One of Nick Carter’s sexual assault accusers has hit a legal hurdle.
According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, the lawyers representing Shannon Ruth in her case against the Backstreet Boys singer are asking permission to withdraw as her counsel.
The legal firm claims it can “no longer adequately represent” Ruth due to a “breakdown in communication on fundamental issues of the case”.
Ruth, who lives with autism and cerebral palsy, is suing Carter, claiming he assaulted her on his tour bus in 2001 when she was 17. Carter has denied the incident happened.
He claims Ruth conspired with another sexual assault accuser, Melissa Schuman, to spread lies about him in an attempt to extort him for a financial settlement.
Schuman, a former member of the pop group Dream, first sued Carter in April 2023. She alleges the pop idol invited her over to his Santa Monica apartment while they were filming the made-for-TV teen horror film The Hollow.
She alleges Carter fed her a sedative-laced cocktail and raped her.
Carter denies the allegations and filed a $2.5 million (£1.89 million) cross-complaint against Schuman in July 2024.
Carter is also being sued by Ashley Repp, who alleges he raped her on a yacht in 2003 when she was 15.
The claims brought by Ruth and Repp were consolidated with those of a fourth accuser, Laura Penly, for a single trial scheduled to begin on 12 October.
In a prior statement to Rolling Stone, Carter’s lawyers called the women’s allegations “nonsense”. He has not been charged with any crimes related to the allegations.
