The highly-publicized assisted suicide of Catherine Kassenoff, initially brought to national attention by the Frank Report, has spiraled into a $150 million legal battle.
Catherine Kassenoff attributed her suicide to an arduous divorce and custody struggle with her husband Allan Kassenoff in Westchester County Family Court.
On September 5, Allan Kassenoff, on behalf of himself, and his three minor children, and his divorce lawyer, Constantine Gus Dimpolous, filed a federal lawsuit against TikTok influencer Robert Harvey, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with business relationships, cyberstalking, and harassment.
Today, Kassenoff amended the lawsuit. Dimopoulos is no longer a plaintiff, and in a statement he said he voluntarily withdrew his name.
The lawsuit contends Harvey launched a targeted and malicious social media campaign against Kassenoff starting May 31, 2023 – four days after his wife’s death.
Robbie Harvey’s videos also included criticism of Gus Dimopoulus.
With a TikTok following of over 3 million, Harvey allegedly posted misleading videos portraying Kassenoff as an abusive husband and father. Kassenoff asserts these falsehoods led to his ousting from Greenberg Traurig, where he earned around $1 million per year.
Anti-SLAPP Defense
Harvey’s attorney Jonathan Davidoff plans to seek a dismissal based on the lawsuit being an illegal SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) suit. He argues the lawsuit is a frivolous legal action intended to stifle freedom of speech.
Dimopoulus formerly represented Davidoff’s wife in a divorce that ended in 2022.
Gus Dimopoulos
Here is Constantine Gus Dimopoulus’ Statement
I have proudly represented Allan Kassenoff in his divorce action since 2019. Sadly, in May 2023, his spouse took her own life, just weeks before the final trial, in an extremely public social media campaign that was fueled by a false narrative.
On May 31, 2023, a TikTok personality by the name of Robert Harvey began uploading videos depicting Allan and his children and even instructed his 3,000,000+ followers to attack Allan’s law firm and its clients, which resulted in Allan losing his position as a shareholder in a multi-national law firm, and which irreparably harmed Allan’s three young children.
On September 5, 2023, Allan and I filed a lawsuit against Mr. Harvey in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Harvey published defamatory, false, and misleading content about Mr. Kassenoff and that he intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon Allan and his three daughters. The lawsuit further alleges a cause of action for tortious interference with a business relationship and seeks an injunction against Mr. Harvey under Florida’s cyberstalking statute. As a sign of solidarity, I decided to join in the lawsuit solely to obtain an injunction restraining Mr. Harvey from posting additional videos. However, I never sought monetary damages or sought to financially benefit in any way from the lawsuit.
Mr. Harvey decided to hire a lawyer by the name of Jonathan Davidoff to represent him in this lawsuit. When Mr. Davidoff went through his own divorce, I represented his wife in that contentious matter that resulted in a prolonged trial. That case ended in 2022, and since then, Mr. Davidoff has filed two lawsuits against me, one of which has already been dismissed.
It is my opinion that Mr. Harvey’s decision to engage Mr. Davidoff is fueled by the latter’s own grievances against me. Accordingly, and because my continued involvement in this lawsuit will only serve as a distraction from Allan’s and his children’s meritorious claims, I have elected to voluntarily withdraw from the lawsuit. This way, the focus of the case can be where it belongs, on Allan and his children – and the significant harm that Mr. Harvey caused them. Although I will no longer be seeking an injunction against Mr. Harvey in the current action, I reserve the right to pursue one in the future.
I will continue to support and stand by Allan in his efforts for justice.
