New Riddle in Herpes Lawsuit Against Mystery Celeb

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For reasons as mysterious as the identity of the California celebrity who allegedly gave a Michigan woman genital herpes in Royal Oak last summer, the plaintiff in a bizarre federal lawsuit dropped the action Tuesday, a day after she filed it.

The woman, whose name was also kept secret, said in an explanation as brief as the lawsuit’s life on the U.S. District Court docket that she “voluntarily dismisses this action without prejudice,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

“Without prejudice” is legalese that leaves open the possibility she may refile the lawsuit.

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The woman, reportedly from Michigan but now living in New York, is represented by Roseville attorney Cynthia Merry, who declined to speak with reporters, the Free Press said.

The parties weren’t named “due to the social stigma” of herpes, according to the lawsuit. It was unclear if the mystery celebrity is an actor, musician, athlete or politician.

In an interview with the Free Press, Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning offered some possible explanations for the quick dismissal of the lawsuit, which he called “strange” and “very rare.”

The parties may have reached a settlement, the defendant may have learned of the action and threatened a counter suit claiming his name had been maliciously smeared, or the woman may have changed her mind because she didn’t want to deal with the publicity, Henning speculated.

Any trial on the case would have been public, Henning noted, and a lawyer’s refusal to comment is “often a sign that they really want this to go away and don’t want anymore publicity about it,” he said.