A federal judge in the Southern District of New York has agreed to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought against private equity billionaire Leon Black. The plaintiff, who used the pseudonym Jane Doe and had been acting without legal representation, stated in an eight-page letter submitted on October 12 that she was medically incapable of continuing the litigation due to the risk of an acute psychiatric crisis and potential suicide.
Doe originally filed the lawsuit in July 2023, alleging that she had been handed off to Black by his associate Jeffrey Epstein and subsequently sexually assaulted in 2002 when she was a teenager. In her recent filing requesting a dismissal with prejudice—meaning the matter cannot be brought to court again—Doe emphasized that her request was not a concession regarding the truth of her allegations or a retraction of her statements.
“My request is not a concession concerning the truth of my allegations, a retraction of my statements, or an acceptance of defendant’s disputed positions; it reflects only the medical reality that I can no longer safely pursue this litigation,” Doe wrote.
Black has consistently and strongly denied the allegations. Susan Estrich, an attorney for Black, said in a statement that the lawsuit should never have been brought and repeated prior characterizations of the complaint as a work of fiction filled with lies and fabrications. Another attorney for Black, Michael Carlinsky, noted in a legal filing that the request to dismiss the case was made voluntarily without any settlement, compromise, or financial inducement from Black, and that his legal team did not oppose the dismissal.
The dismissal arrives amid a complex procedural backdrop for the case. Both sides had recently been ordered to review thousands of pages of documents slated for unsealing, connected to both the Black lawsuit and a separate class-action lawsuit brought by Epstein victims against JP Morgan, in which Doe had previously received a financial settlement. The document review process required both parties to examine files and propose redactions. Doe had stated she needed legal assistance for the task, prompting Judge Jessica Clarke to suggest she contact the City Bar Justice Center for pro bono support.
In her filing, Doe disclosed that she is autistic and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, stating that these conditions materially affected her ability to process complex, adversarial information without representation. She noted that acting as her own attorney exposed her to thousands of pages containing graphic accounts of sexual trauma and intimate medical data during the redaction process. Doe initially retained attorneys at the Wigdor law firm, which represents sexual assault victims, but her former counsel withdrew from the case in April 2025. Black’s legal team stated an intention to pursue ongoing litigation against Wigdor regarding legal fees, a move the firm is expected to challenge.
The proceedings had previously encountered multiple hurdles. In April, Judge Clarke sanctioned Doe and her former lawyer for serious misconduct, ruling that the attorney had repeatedly lied to the court and opposing counsel, though the judge permitted the lawsuit to proceed at that time.
Beyond the civil litigation in New York, Black faces separate scrutiny in Washington. In September, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to hold Black in criminal contempt of Congress for defying two congressional subpoenas issued by the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Epstein, his ties to prominent individuals, and the federal government’s handling of Epstein-related investigations. One subpoena sought all nondisclosure agreements to which Black was a party. Black attended a voluntary closed-door interview in June but walked out shortly after it began, subsequently declining a deposition. His attorneys argued he was targeted by a political witch-hunt and filed a lawsuit to block the subpoenas, claiming the committee exceeded its authority. The contempt resolution has been referred to the Department of Justice, though it remains undetermined whether criminal prosecution will be pursued.
Congressional investigators have focused on Black because of his extensive financial relationship with Epstein, who provided financial services to Black between 2012 and 2017. According to an investigation by Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, Black became Epstein’s largest client following Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to Florida state prostitution charges involving a minor, paying Epstein roughly $170 million in fees. In his June statement to the oversight committee, Black maintained he was unaware of Epstein’s trafficking activities until Epstein was arrested in July 2019, though he acknowledged knowing about the 2008 prostitution guilty plea. Epstein died in a federal prison in 2019 following sex trafficking charges.
