A steamy new lawsuit claims Halle Berry’s prominent Hollywood attorney turned one of his fledgling actress clients into a “virtual sex slave” — but the lawyer insists the sordid tale is a shakedown.
The accuser, identified as Jane Doe in her filing, claims lawyer Neil Meyer used his position of power over her career to force her to meet his kinky demands.
“Meyer preyed upon (her) vulnerability and made her his virtual sex slave from on or about late 2009 through December 2013,” the lawsuit states.
She claims Meyer, a graduate of the scandal-scarred Riverdale prep school Horace Mann, sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions in 2010 — including one time at the St. Regis hotel in New York.
“If plaintiff would cry or not manifest pleasure during sexual relations, Meyer would become sexually violent, often physically injuring the plaintiff,” the complaint obtained by the Daily News states.
“Meyer forced plaintiff to accede to sexual acts that plaintiff found repulsive, humiliating, dehumanizing, painful and physically and mentally injurious,” said the lawsuit, which also listed Meyer’s law firm, Stone, Meyer, Genow, Smelkinson and Binder LLP, in the complaint.
Meyer claims the woman is lying to get undeserved hush money.
“The salacious allegations of the complaint are little more than an attempt to extort a settlement payment, which will never happen. This is not a ‘case,’ it is a sham, and it will be dismissed,” Meyer’s lawyer, Mark Baute, told The News.
“Jane Doe’s allegations have been rejected by the state bar twice. In addition, my client obtained a TRO (temporary restraining order) against Jane Doe due to her erratic behavior,” he said.
Court records show Meyer filed a request for a restraining order in March against Wen Yann Shih, 32, a Chinese-American actress born in New York, who has appeared in the 1990s television shows “7th Heaven” and “Felicity,” as well as the Matt Damon movie “Stuck on You.”
The News has not been able to conclusively determine whether or not Shih is Jane Doe.
In his application for a restraining order, Meyer portrayed Shih as a scorned mistress out to destroy him.
“I had a dating relationship with Ms. Shih that was on and off for over a year. I have broken it off three times. About six weeks ago, I told her that I did not want to be with her anymore,” he said.
“She then asked me to commit to having sex with her once a week, but I refused. She then asked for sex once a month, but I refused. She then said we would be at war,” Meyer said in his statement.
“We had had the same conversation two months earlier. She threatened to report me to the State Bar … to show up at all my lunch meetings, to send emails to everyone I work with and know in the entertainment business, and to contact my children and tell them what a bad person I was. She said she had nothing to lose,” said Meyer. He is divorced from Laura Meyer, his wife of 22 years, his ex-wife confirmed.
Meyer’s restraining order against Shih was dismissed two months later when neither party appeared in court for a hearing.
In the suit filed Friday, Meyer’s accuser asked for unspecified damages for emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty and sexual harassment.
The lawyers who filed the claim declined to comment when reached by The News.
Records show Meyer graduated from Horace Mann in 1979 before attending law school in Los Angeles and picking up A-list clients including Berry, “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicollette Sheridan and “Captain America” star Chris Evans.
The elite Bronx institution has been embroiled in a tawdry sex scandal since 2012, when a student went public with allegations of sexual abuse by a teacher. Another 30 or so students came forward with similar claims.
