Kevin Hart Sex Tape Lawsuit to Go to Trial

A lawsuit involving actor and comedian Kevin Hart and a 2017 sex tape will go to trial after his motion for a summary judgment was denied.

Montia Sabbag is suing Hart, alleging he was aware that their encounter in a Las Vegas hotel room was being secretly filmed and that he used the scandal as publicity to promote his career.

According to court documents obtained by Newsweek, Sabbag said she saw Hart "adjust" a mirror in the room prior to them being intimate, suggesting "Hart knew there was a camera pointing towards the mirror."

Hart previously addressed the affair with Sabbag, posting a public apology video on Instagram in September 2017. The Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star said in the video that he "won't allow someone to have financial gain" from his mistakes.

On August 19, 2022, Hart's legal team's motion to dismiss Sabbag's case was denied by California Superior Court Judge Shirley K. Watkins.

Sabbag had also accused Hart's former associate Jonathan "JT" Jackson of being involved. The Jackson legal team's motion for a summary judgment was granted in its entirety by Watkins as there were no "triable issues of material fact" relating to him, meaning the case against him was dismissed.

On six issues that Hart's team applied for a summary adjudication on, four counts were denied and two were granted. A trial of the civil case is scheduled for October 17, 2022.

Sabbag's declaration, cited in the ruling, states that Hart "moved or adjusted" the mirror in his bedroom prior to the pair "having sex."

"The Video appears to indicate that the device that recorded the Video was placed in front of the bed in Hart's bedroom where we were having sex and that the recording device seemed to be reflecting off the mirror in Hart's bedroom; the same mirror I observed Hart move/adjust just prior to us engaging in intercourse," Sabbag's statement read.

The court found that this did create a "reasonable inference as to whether defendant Hart knew there was a camera pointing toward the mirror and whether the adjustment of the mirror was for the purposes of recording, or whether he knew there was a camera there."

It continued: "This evidence conflicts with the declaration of Hart that he did not know about the camera or recording and was not involved in the recording, He also does not deny that he adjusted the mirror."

The judge concluded that there was "a triable issue of material fact as to whether defendant Hart knew there was a camera recording based upon the declaration of plaintiff [Sabbag] ... and the video itself."

Prosecutors filed criminal charges against Jackson over the tape in 2018 but these were later dismissed. At the time, Hart posted a video message on Instagram commenting on how "happy" he was that his "friend" was cleared. "This message is about moving on. It's over, and I'm happy that it's over," he said.

"There was much media attention given to the allegations made against Mr. Jackson, and now the criminal and civil actions are finally over and dismissed in Mr. Jackson's favor," Jackson's attorney Daniel L. Reback, of the law firm Nemecek & Cole, told Newsweek.

In September 2019, Sabbag sued Hart for $60 million in damages for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and invasion of privacy, according to court documents obtained by People at that time.

Sabbag alleged Hart knew their illicit encounter was being recorded and that Hart used the subsequent scandal for publicity to promote his "Irresponsible Tour" standup show "and to increase his overall pop culture status."

In September 2017, Sabbag came forward as the woman in the leaked sex tape at a press conference and stated that she is "not an extortionist" and had "nothing to do with these recordings."

Newsweek has contacted the legal representatives of Hart, Sabbag and Jackson for further comment.