The ex-husband of a Westchester mother of three who allegedly killed herself via assisted suicide has filed a $150 million lawsuit against a TikToker who uploaded a video of her accusing her of domestic abuse.
Allan Kassenoff resigned as patent attorney in June after TikToker Robbie Harvey, an advocate for women in abusive relationships, uploaded more than 20 videos that Catherine Kassenoff had shared on Facebook before she reportedly died of an assisted suicide in Switzerland.
Although Catherine’s post, along with the suicide note, was deleted from Facebook, her allegations were broadcast to Harvey’s more than 3 million followers, which Kassenoff said led to her financial and emotional ruin, according to the lawsuit filed last Tuesday in Florida district court.
“With a few clicks on his keyboard and a video uploaded to TikTok, Defendant Robert Harvey financially destroyed Plaintiff Allan Kassenoff,” his attorney wrote.
Catherine Kassenoff, who was terminally ill, died by assisted suicide as she claimed her ex-husband, Allan Kassenoff, had abused her and used underhand tactics to win custody of their three children. Photography by Jessie Watford
“And, even worse, irreparably harming Mr. Kassenoff’s three young children… by forcing them into a life where their identities will forever be linked to the bitter and ugly divorce and suicide of their mother.”
The Kassenoffs gained national attention following Harvey’s upload of Catherine’s video, in which a former federal prosecutor accused her ex-husband of not only domestic abuse, but also a “predatory” law practice that alienated him from their three daughters in 2018.
Catherine, who also had terminal cancer, ended up calling him the villain in a custody battle before he allegedly killed himself, with the video also sent to several judges, lawyers and friends.
TikToker Robbie Harvey, an advocate for women in abusive relationships, retweeted Catherine’s allegations on his account, which has more than 3 million followers. Robbie Harvey/Facebook
Although the court found no evidence of domestic violence and awarded Kassenoff sole custody of her children, her employer, Greenberg Traurig, suspended her amid a reinvestigation into the case.
Kassenoff resigned days into the investigation.
Kassenoff claims in the lawsuit that Harvey’s followers “bombarded” the law firm with more than 7,000 calls and 500 emails accusing him of causing his ex-wife’s death.
A video taken by Catherine shows how her ex-husband called her “fat, old loser.” @therobbieharvey/TikTok
Another video shows her yelling at her children, with one saying she doesn’t want to go with him. @therobbieharvey/TikTok
Kassenoff also accused Harvey of spreading defamatory information by allegedly editing Catherine’s video, but the lawsuit does not say how the video was allegedly altered.
She also said Harvey showed a “disregard for the truth” through his comments on Catherine’s video, in which the influencer was shocked that Kassenoff had been granted custody of their children.
It was paired with a video showing him snapping at a child, with one daughter saying she didn’t “want to go with that crazy guy.”
Although there are no official reports of Catherine’s death, she is believed to have gone through with her plan to commit an assisted suicide in Switzerland, which her ex-husband confirmed in a lawsuit. Facebook/Circulation
The father of three eventually claimed that “Harvey’s sole motivation for willfully destroying four lives was one thing and one thing only – money.”
Along with the $150 million lawsuit, Kassenoff is asking the court to order the removal of all of Catherine’s videos on Harvey’s TikTok account, as well as an injunction to prevent the influencer from posting anything else about Kassenoff.
Harvey’s lawyer, Jonathan Davidoff, said in a statement that the lawsuit was nothing more than “vindictive revenge” and an attempt “to rewrite history” with Kassenoff as the victim.
Catherine revealed her plans to die and her ex-husband’s alleged abuse in a now-deleted Facebook post.
Davidoff added that the lawsuit clearly violates Florida’s anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statue, which prohibits lawsuits brought against people who exercise their free speech rights.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
