As the 70 plaintiffs in Edmondson v Raniere wait for a ruling from US District Judge Eric Komitee on five of the eight defendants’ motions to dismiss, they voluntarily dismissed all claims against one of the defendants.
Nicki Clyne is no longer a defendant in the NXIVM lawsuit.
The plaintiffs, represented by attorney Neil Glazer, are all former NXIVM members.
In July, five defendants, Clare and Sara Bronfman, Danielle Roberts, Brandon Porter, and Clyne, made individual motions for dismissal based on alleged defects in the Third Amended Complaint, claiming it failed to provide enough specificity to meet federal pleading standards.
Three defendants – Allison Mack, Kathy Russell, and Keith Raniere – have not entered any defense of the lawsuit to date.
On July 31, the plaintiffs responded to four of the defendants, arguing that the Third Amended Complaint met all pleading standards necessary to proceed to trial. The plaintiffs did not name Clyne in their opposition papers.
This week, the plaintiffs dismissed all claims against Clyne without explanation, which mirrors what they did when they dismissed claims against former defendants Nancy and Lauren Salzman, Karen Unterreiner, Rosa Laura Junco, Daniela Padilla, Monica Duran, and Loreta Garza.
The latter four women live in Mexico, outside the jurisdiction of US federal court. The former three, all longtime supporters of Raniere, denounced him. While federal prosecutors convicted Nancy and Lauren Salzman on racketeering charges, no criminal charges were filed against Unterriener.
The plaintiffs will likely call all three to testify if the case proceeds to trial.
Clyne, who supported Raniere until March of this year – publicly broke with him and his remaining followers. She announced her departure on Frank Report on March 27, and on April 2, she named 30 controversies connected to him, which she urged his remaining followers to consider.
Since then, she has made no public statements or postings.
Nicki Clyne after leaving Keith Raniere
Attorney Glazer, who commenced his work to expose and litigate against NXIVM in 2017 after being introduced to the case by Kristin Keeffe, provided significant legal counsel to victims in the criminal case against Raniere and evidence to prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, including evidence provided by this writer.
Keeffe is not one of the plaintiffs but may testify if the case goes to trial.
Keith Raniere AKA VanguardIt is no secret that the civil case – which seeks monetary damages – targets the wealthy Bronfman sisters, who funded Raniere and were high-ranking members of NXIVM.
None of the other defendants have sufficient assets to warrant a large-scale federal lawsuit with 70 plaintiffs.
Sara and Clare Bronfman…
Clyne, too, may testify, providing potentially an array of third-party witnesses – from Unterreiner, the Salzmans, and potentially Keeffe, with a wealth of knowledge about Raniere and the Bronfmans, who used more than $100 million of their wealth to support Raniere and his many exploitative endeavors, and one day may have to provide some relief to the many they exploited.
