A state appeals court has cleared the way for lawyers of those who say they were sexually assaulted inside steam rooms at Equinox gyms to find and contact possible witnesses.
The decision is believed to be the first of its kind in a civil case, said Marc Held, an attorney for the victims.
Equinox ran to court after Held sent letters to 71 Equinox employees in December 2022 about the now long-running lawsuit, in which 11 people claimed they were “sexually assaulted, attacked [or subjected to] indecent exposure” in the popular gym chain’s steam rooms — and that management knew and did nothing to stop it.
The company claimed Held should have warned the workers that whatever they said about the alleged sexual assaults could hurt Equinox, and that they should speak with an attorney.
A judge in the Brooklyn case agreed, deciding in April 2023 that Held should have included the legal caution in his brief letter.
Held appealed, and this week the Second Judicial Department of the state appeals court reversed the earlier ruling.
“We are pleased that the Appellate Division put an end to Equinox’s attempt to obstruct and silence sexual assault victims,” Held told The Post.
The 2018 case is ongoing.
There were so many complaints about the bad behavior that Equinox “drafted a template response to go out to such victims,” according to court records.
Held described Equinox’s bid for the legal warning as “def-facto Miranda rights,” a reference to the description of rights typically given to someone arrested in a criminal case.
“There should be no such requirement or constraints in a civil case,” he said.
Equinox lawyers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
