Judge Dismisses Chris Dickinson's Defamation Lawsuit Against Domestic Abuse Accusers

Earlier this week, a federal judge in the District of New Jersey formally dismissed the defamation lawsuit that former NJPW Strong and EVOLVE wrestler Chris Dickinson — real name Christopher Torre — had filed against two of his ex-girlfriends in July. News of the dismissal was first reported by PWInsider.

In April, Christina Von Eerie, a veteran independent wrestler, and McKaila Coulter, who worked behind the scenes on the independents, came forward on Twitter with statements alleging that Dickinson was both emotionally and physically abuse abusive during their relationships; Dickinson responded by claiming defamation in his suit.

Dickinson's case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, as Dickinson filed the lawsuit in New Jersey, where neither he nor the defendants live, attempting to use the state's role as the home base of GCW and an indie hub, in general, to assert that it was the correct place to file. It's notable that unlike the states where each of them lives – New York (Dickinson), California (Von Eerie), and Massachusetts (Coulter) — New Jersey does not have a law in place to prevent what has become known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs. The assigned judge did not say much beyond seconding the November 30 recommendation that had been made by a magistrate judge consulting on the case.

Since the dismissal was over New Jersey not being the correct location for the suit, Dickinson has the ability to re-file it in a proper jurisdiction within the statute of limitations. However, there's reason to believe that he won't. Noted in the magistrate's report, the judge told all parties on November 21 that since none had addressed the issue of transferring the case in any of their filings, they all had a week to address the issue if they desired. None did so.

In addition, when filing declarations under penalty of perjury supporting their motions to dismiss the lawsuit on September 26, each defendant included a piece of supporting evidence. Von Eerie's exhibit to her affidavit was a timestamped photo that she claimed showed physical injury at Dickinson's hands, while Coulter's affidavit included Instagram direct messages with Dickinson where he wrote "I would never put my hands on you ever" before contradicting himself with "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I pushed you into the wall. I'm f*cking sorry." In Dickinson's opposition to the motion to dismiss, his attorney did not dispute their authenticity, only claiming both were "irrelevant" to the New Jersey filing location.