A little over a year has passed since game writer Chris Avellone was accused of sexual misconduct by several women. In addition to the two accusers, he has also filed lawsuits against as many as 100 unnamed people who he claims are "somehow responsible" for defamation.

Avelone's lawsuit specifically alleges that two women, Carissa Burroughs and Kelly Bristol, made defamatory statements about him last year; Burroughs, who saw an interview with Avelone conducted by IGN in June 2020, wrote on Twitter that the writer was at a convention claimed that he has a history of "getting young women drunk" and preying on them. In her case, he bought liquor to get her "blackout drunk" at a bar and escorted her to his hotel room, where they flirted in the hallway. (It is agreed by both parties that, at her request, nothing more was done.)

Burrows further said that Averone was a "sex offender" and had "assaulted and abused" her friend. Bristol, a friend of Burroughs', claimed that Avelone touched her body and propositioned her.

Avelone expressed surprise at some of Burroughs' comments, but said little publicly about the 2020 allegations. He now denies each of the allegations, calling the statements "completely false" and stating that he never "targeted any person for the purpose of engaging in non-consensual sexual contact" and never assaulted Bristol.

Burroughs supports her claims. 'The only statement I will make at this point is that I stand by my story,' Burrows told PC Gamer when reached for comment this week. 'I have told the truth. I am not at liberty to speak further until the legal process is completed.'

Along with the lawsuit, Avellone published a blog post titled "It's Come To This," in which he claimed that Burrows became antagonistic toward him when her relationship with her friend deteriorated. in 2020, Burrows claimed that her best friend was "(Avellone) . endured over a year of heartache, gaslighting, and emotional abuse at his hands," she claimed. According to Avellone, the friend was "unhappy" but not in a committed relationship. (The friend is only identified in the posting as someone named Jackie. She is also not identified in the lawsuit.)

Averone also preemptively denied that he is using the legal system to silence his accuser, saying he wants Burroughs and others to "tell us more about what happened."

Attorney D.M. Schmeyer, who is not involved in the case but has characterized it as "revenge" and "bullying" in a widely shared Twitter thread, said lawsuits like Averone's are used to silence defendants because they are expensive and difficult to handle. Schmeyer also criticized the strategy of the lawsuit, saying that Averone's attorneys made a mistake in filing the lawsuit in California (because California favors defendants in such lawsuits over other states) and that there is no legal merit to the claims in the lawsuit. For example, Schmeyer said that calling someone a "predator" is an expression of opinion, not fact, in the context of a defamation suit, and therefore "not actionable." Schmeyer also questions whether Avelone can prove that the accusers acted in bad faith, the meaning of including 100 "Does," and other specifics. Schmeyer concludes that the lawsuit is intended to silence the accusers.

Averone disagrees. When asked for comment, he told PC Gamer that he feels that Burroughs and Bristol have "had time to listen" over the past year since the allegations were made and therefore have not been "silenced." He added that "other voices involved in the story" will now be heard and that he believes the investigation will reveal "significant misstatements and inconsistencies." He also stated that the court will reveal who the 100 "Doe" defendants are.

In one tweet that Averone takes issue with, Schmeyer seems to scoff at the inclusion of "hurt feelings" as one of the damages. Hey," he wrote.

"The lawyer in this thread is unfortunately biased. I respect his right to his opinion, but while he ridicules the "hurt feelings" claim, he should already know that it is standard language in California defamation suits and includes a variety of emotional distress, including suicidal thoughts."

Indeed, California does not specify what "hurt feelings" refer to, but includes the term as one of the "general damages" relevant in defamation actions alongside "loss of reputation," "shame," and "discomfort."

Schmeyer declined to specifically supplement this statement, but refuted the claim that he was biased. I do not know Mr. Chris Avellone personally, nor do I know any of the parties to this lawsuit," he said. 'I have played his games and enjoyed them, but that's about it. As an attorney, I was interested in and commented on the legal issues surrounding his complaint.

Aside from the assertion that he is not trying to silence the defendant, Avelone stated in his blog post that he waited until now to fight the allegations because he "understands the cancellation culture" and felt that a company that severed ties with him could not show hesitation without being judged He stated.

The lawsuit, filed on June 16 in Los Angeles, seeks damages for lost jobs and emotional distress, as well as punitive damages, litigation costs, and an active injunction (in which the court would specify some action to be taken by defendants Burroughs and Bristol as a remedy).

What happens next depends on the response from the defendants, which should be fairly soon, since the default deadline is 30 days from service.

It seems clear from Burroughs' statement that she stands by her statement that she is challenging the lawsuit. One option Schmeyer describes in the thread is for the defendants to file a motion to strike the complaint for lack of merit, which could be successful if the court agrees with Schmeyer's opinion.