A Las Vegas judge has ruled that Nick Carter's defamation countersuit against Melissa Schuman can continue, citing sufficient evidence to move forward.
The Backstreet Boys member, 43, filed a countersuit against the former teen pop singer after she previously accused him of raping her in his Santa Monica apartment in 2003 when she was 18 years old and he was 22.
In documents of the countersuit previously obtained by PEOPLE, Carter claimed that Schuman and Shannon Ruth – who sued him in December for alleged sexual battery – took advantage of the #MeToo movement and used it to launch a five-year conspiracy to "defame and vilify Carter and otherwise ruin his reputation for the purposes of garnering attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter."
Nick Carter Countersues Women Who Accused Him of Sexual Assault: 'Opportunists'
Schuman had previously filed an Anti-SLAPP motion attempting to throw out the musician's counterclaim, which was denied by Judge Nancy Allf.
The Anti-SLAPP statute is designed to prohibit lawsuits that are filed as retaliation against free speech through "expensive, baseless legal proceedings," according to the Reporter's Committee.
Carter's countersuit states he believes he has never met Ruth, and he denies both allegations.
Ruth, who has cerebral palsy and autism, alleges she was waiting in an autograph line after a Backstreet Boys show in Washington when Carter invited her to his bus. According to Ruth's lawsuit, Carter allegedly offered her a...
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