A former DLA Piper partner seeking to dismiss a subordinate’s claim he raped her in 2022 said his accuser contradicted her case testifying to a state judge that he wasn’t abusive until the following year.
Brian Biggs said in filings Tuesday that the unnamed associate sought a restraining order against him and testified that he had “become very abusive” when they resumed their relationship in September or October of 2023. The restraining order request focused on an alleged July 2024 incident where Biggs entered the associate’s house, threw her down, and strangled her, leaving bruises on her face, neck, and chest, according to state court papers.
The woman, filed the lawsuit against Biggs and DLA Piper in December under a Jane Doe pseudonym. She alleged in her complaint that Biggs sexually harassed and assaulted her while they both worked for DLA Piper and raped her in the firm’s Wilmington office after a December 2022 work dinner.
Biggs, an intellectual property attorney who now works at Ashby & Geddes, has denied the allegations. His attorney, Douglas Brooks of Libby Hoopes Brooks & Mulvey, previously called the claims “false and defamatory.” Brooks declined to comment on the new filings, which also argued that one of the claims should be dismissed on procedural grounds.
The associate’s attorney, Jonathan Pollard of Pollard PLLC, said Wednesday he doesn’t believe there’s an inconsistency between the lawsuit’s claims and the prior testimony.
“This is all noise,” Pollard said. “The reality: The case against both Defendants will go to trial in front of a jury. There is no viable legal strategy for getting rid of this case on a motion to dismiss or at summary judgment.”
DLA Piper, which is represented by lawyers from Seyfarth Shaw, has said Biggs withdrew from the firm after its review of the pair’s relationship. The firm also said the associate never made rape allegations.
Anonymity Challenged
Biggs is also challenging his accuser’s request to proceed under the Jane Doe pseudonym in the suit. He pointed out that the woman filed the earlier action for a restraining order under her real name.
“Those proceedings were conducted in open court in front of many non-party observers, and the transcripts from that litigation remain available to the public,” Biggs said in the filing. “This renders moot her request to proceed anonymously.”
The woman’s anonymity, Biggs said, hampers his ability to interview witnesses, serve subpoenas, or respond to public filings because at each step it would risk accidentally identifying his accuser. He added privacy concerns can be addressed through protective orders or impoundment of sensitive documents.
Pollard said there’s “no legitimate reason” for his client’s name to be made public, which would serve “no purpose other than to expose our client to further harm.”
The associate said in court filings the disclosure of her name “in a localized proceedings does not permanently extinguish a survivor’s privacy rights in a subsequent civil action—particularly one involving expanded allegations, different legal claims, national media attention and materially greater reputational and professional consequences.”
Seeking to be dismissed from the case, Biggs argued the Massachusetts court has no jurisdiction to hear claims regarding the December 2022 rape allegation, and even if it did, it should apply Delaware’s statute of limitations, which have already run on the claim.
The associate responded that the claim against Biggs isn’t merely based on the alleged Wilmington incident but also encompasses a “prolonged, coercive relationship rooted in Plaintiff’s Massachusetts -based employment and Biggs’s supervisory authority over her,” as well as an alleged physical assault that did occur in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts’ long-arm jurisdiction would also apply to the Delaware claims, given Biggs’s role supervising her, she said in an opposition to the dismissal motion.
Representatives for DLA Piper weren’t immediately available for comment.
The case is Doe v. DLA Piper, Mass. Super. Ct., No. 2584CV03465, motions filed 2/3/26.
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