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Motion to Dismiss N.Y. Holloway Lawsuit
Thursday, March 09, 2006
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NEW YORK — The lawyer for a Dutch youth questioned in the disappearance of a young Alabama woman in Aruba moved on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by her parents.
Attorney Joseph Tacopina filed papers on behalf of Joran van der Sloot and his father, saying the lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan, should be thrown out because the case has no connection to New York.
State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick agreed to hear arguments on the motion on May 17.
Natalee Holloway, 18, was last seen May 30 leaving a bar on the Dutch island with van der Sloot and two friends. Her body has not been found and no one has been charged.
Last month, Holloway's parents sued Van der Sloot and his father, Paulus, for unspecified money damages in connection with her disappearance.
Elizabeth Ann Twitty, of Alabama, and Dave Edward Holloway, of Mississippi, say Joran van der Sloot imprisoned and sexually assaulted their daughter and was responsible for her disappearance.
The van der Sloots were served with a summons while in New York, where the son gave television interviews about the case.
Tacopina's motion papers say the van der Sloots deny the allegations.
"My clients and I are sympathetic to the fact the plaintiffs do not know the present whereabouts of their daughter," Tacopina said in the papers. However, he says, "neither the plaintiffs' hardship nor the vast media attention" this case has attracted "should serve to prevent the proper dismissal of this case."
The papers say Aruban law must be applied to the case.
Joran van der Sloot and brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18 were arrested June 9 on suspicion of involvement in Holloway's disappearance. Joran Van der Sloot admitted he was with the teen but denied any wrongdoing. All were released.
Tacopina said Joran van der Sloot had returned to school in Holland and his father was home in Aruba.
A lawyer for the Holloway family did not return calls for comment.
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