Defendant in Jameis Winston countersuit moves to dismiss

Jameis Winston's days at Florida State University are not completely behind him.

Erica Kinsman, a former FSU student who alleged in 2013 that Winston raped her, is suing Winston for false imprisonment, assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Recently, Winston filed a countersuit, alleging defamation and interference with business relationships arising out of Kinsman's initial lawsuit.

Now, Kinsman's attorneys have moved to dismiss Winston's defamation lawsuit and strike that lawsuit's opening statement.

Part of Winston's countersuit charges that Kinsman defamed him by naming him as her rapist in statements to both Tallahassee (Fla.) law enforcement and Florida State University in December 2012 and January 2013. The two-year statute of limitations on the defamation claims has run out, Kinsman's attorneys say, since the statements date to early 2013. The motion adds that Kinsman is immune from a lawsuit on these alleged statements, since such statements to law enforcement qualify as "protected" speech under the First Amendment.

In other words, Kinsman says Winston can't sue her for naming him as her rapist because 1. time has run out on the opportunity to do so and 2. she named him in protected settings (i.e. to law enforcement and university officials).

Moreover, Kinsman's attorneys add, Winston's 17-page opening statement in the countersuit is a "highly inflammatory and gratuitous" attack on "Ms. Kinsman's character and credibility through unfounded claims of lying, manipulating evidence and other impertinent allegations." As Kinsman's motion notes, the statement "disparages Ms. Kinsman's moral character, repeatedly calling her a liar ... or stat[ing] that she is lying at least 19 times," while asserting that she is "motivated by the most insidious objectives – greed."

In other words, Kinsman's motion notes, Winston's opening statement "falls somewhere between an improperly hostile closing argument at trial and a posting on a Florida State football blog." As such, the motion notes, "such a scandalous, redundant, and gratuitous Preliminary Statement should be stricken."

Kinsman first filed suit against Winston in April, with Winston countersuing in May. Kinsman has also filed suit against the Florida State University Board of Trustees. That case is set for trial in July of 2016; if this case proceeds at a similar pace, Winston will be dealing with its repercussions for years to come.