Neil Gaiman Assault Lawsuit Comes to an Abrupt End

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The sexual assault lawsuit against has been unexpectedly and quickly resolved. A federal judge in Wisconsin dismissed the case, ruling it should have been filed in New Zealand – where the alleged incidents occurred – rather than in the U.S. This dismissal, based on legal jurisdiction, prevents a jury from hearing the details of the case and reaching a verdict, which doesn’t reflect well on Gaiman.

Following several months of legal submissions, the judge has sided with the Sandman author’s lawyers, who argued that the U.S. was not the appropriate location for the lawsuit. Judge James D. Peterson determined that, under the legal principle of “forum no conveniens”-which allows a judge to dismiss a case if it would be better heard elsewhere-the case should not move forward in the United States. Importantly, Peterson clarified that he did not evaluate any of the evidence presented, and his decision does not indicate whether the claims made are accurate or not.

The lawsuit was initiated by Scarlett Pavlovich, a New Zealand citizen, who filed a claim in January 2025 alleging that Neil Gaiman sexually assaulted her on several occasions in 2022 while she was employed as a nanny for him and his wife. Gaiman has refuted these claims, as well as other similar accusations made by different women. The alleged incidents took place at Gaiman’s home in New Zealand; however, the judge determined that his permanent residency in Wisconsin was insufficient reason to move the case to the U.S. Judge Peterson explained in a statement:

The only link between Wisconsin, the United States, and this lawsuit is that Gaiman lives in this state and might currently reside here. Everything important happened in New Zealand. Pavlovich is a citizen of New Zealand, and both parties lived there when these events took place. All the evidence and most witnesses are also located in New Zealand. While Gaiman and his wife, Amanda Palmer, now live in the United States, they both agree to handle legal proceedings in New Zealand. Therefore, New Zealand is a much better place to resolve this dispute, and the court will dismiss this case for now, but without closing the possibility of it being reopened. If Pavlovich files a lawsuit against Gaiman in New Zealand, and Gaiman refuses to accept legal notices there, Pavlovich can ask this court to reconsider the case.

Neil Gaiman Could Be Brought Back to Court

The lawsuit against Gaiman was dropped, but not permanently – meaning Pavlovich can still file it again, this time in a New Zealand court. However, this might not be the final legal matter, as if Gaiman doesn’t accept service of the lawsuit in New Zealand, the U.S. case could be revived. There’s also another ongoing case in Massachusetts federal court against Gaiman’s wife, Amanda Palmer, which is likely to be dismissed for similar reasons.

The accusations against Gaiman quickly led to the cancellation or scaling back of several of his ongoing TV and film projects. This meant the third season of Good Omens was significantly shorter, The Sandman ended after just two seasons (though the creator said that was the plan all along), and projects like a movie adaptation of his novel, The Graveyard Book, were completely dropped. It’s unlikely studios will be eager to work with the author anytime soon, so we probably won’t see many new Gaiman adaptations announced in the near future.

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2025-10-04 16:18