The ex-husband of a New York mother of three who is believed to have committed suicide by assisted suicide in Switzerland is suing the TikToker who uploaded videos showing the alleged abuse.
Allan Kassenoff resigned from a leave of absence in June after TikToker Robbie Harvey, an advocate for women in abusive relationships, uploaded more than two dozen videos that Catherine Kassenoff shared on Facebook before her death.
Catherine’s post and her suicide note have since been removed from Facebook, but her claims were spread online to more than 3 million of Harvey’s followers.
In a lawsuit filed last Tuesday in Florida District Court, obtained by the New York PostKassenoff claims the videos have led to financial and emotional ruin.
“With a few clicks of his keyboard and a video uploaded to TikTok, Defendant Robert Harvey financially destroyed Plaintiff Allan Kassenoff,” his attorneys wrote in the filing.
“And, worse, he has irreparably harmed Mr. Kassenoff’s three young children … by forcing them into a life in which their identities will forever be associated with a bitter and ugly divorce and their mother’s suicide.”
Ex-husband Allan Kassenoff (right) of mother-of-three Catherine (left) who died by assisted suicide amid ugly custody battle is suing TikToker Robbie Harvey who uploaded videos showing ‘domestic violence’ that she claimed was led to her decision
The family was thrust into the national spotlight following Harvey’s posts in which Catherine accused her estranged husband of not only domestic violence, but also “predatory” legal practices, keeping her away from her children.
The former prosecutor, who also suffered from terminal cancer, portrayed Kassenoff as the villain in a bitter custody battle between the couple, with her videos sent to several judges, lawyers and friends.
Allan Kassenoff resigned from a leave of absence in June after TikToker Robbie Harvey (pictured), an advocate for women in abusive relationships, uploaded more than 20 videos that Catherine Kassenoff shared on Facebook before her death
Although the courts found no evidence of domestic violence and gave Kassenoff sole custody of his three daughters, his employer Greenberg Traurig suspended him during an investigation into the matter. Days after the investigation, Kassenoff resigned.
The lawsuit alleges that Harvey’s followers “bombarded” the law firm with more than 7,000 phone calls and 500 emails accusing him of being the reason Catherine took her life.
It was then alleged that Harvey spread defamatory information and claimed that Catherine’s videos had been edited, but did not state how they were altered.
Kassenoff also alleged that there was a “reckless disregard for the truth” through the commentary on Catherine’s videos and a noticeable bias.
The lawsuit claims that Harvey’s “sole motivation for deliberately destroying four lives was one thing: money.”
In addition to the $150 million lawsuit, Kassenoff is asking for an injunction to have the videos removed from Harvey’s TikTok, as well as an injunction to restrain the popular social media personality from sharing anything else about him or his family to say or post.
Harvey’s attorney, Jonathan Davidoff, said in a statement that the lawsuit was nothing more than “hateful revenge” and an attempt “to rewrite history.”
Kassenoff also alleged that there was a “reckless disregard for the truth” through the commentary on Catherine’s videos and that there was noticeable bias.
Davidoff told the Post that the lawsuit clearly violated Florida’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statue. This prohibits lawsuits against people exercising their right to freedom of expression.
In a shocking and heartbreaking post on Facebook, Catherine accused Kassenoff of abusing her and said he tried to ruin her life before her death.
The woman, who once worked as special counsel to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, said she was the victim of a “predatory” justice system that kept her children at a distance.
According to Catherine’s report, the couple was involved in a nasty custody battle over their three daughters, which continued to escalate.
In Catherine’s moving online suicide note, in addition to the videos, she released thousands of court documents via a now-defunct Dropbox link.
In one email, Kassenoff vowed that he would “never quit” in their custody battle, which he said would cost him $3 million.
“Even if this court awards you my last dollar, I will never stop protecting them,” Kassenoff wrote in a March 19 email to Catherine. ‘Until the day I die.’
The lawsuit claims that Harvey’s “sole motivation for deliberately destroying four lives was one thing: money.”
In Catherine’s moving online suicide note, in addition to the videos, she released thousands of court documents via a disused Dropbox link
He added that she “should be very proud that she financially decimated him and their children during their trial.”
Kassenoff also said she should have focused her anger on seeking help instead of trying to destroy him.
Along with details of their nasty legal troubles and his alleged abuse, Catherine shared videos of Kassenoff throwing tantrums and calling her an idiot. ‘fat old loser.’
In another video, he was heard swearing at the mother of three and saying he hated her.
Other clips show him yelling behind doors, yelling at his children to “shut up,” and dramatically leaving their home, refusing to care for the children in his care.
Meanwhile, a video from one of their daughters shows the young girl crying and saying she “don’t want to go with that crazy guy.”
She claimed in her Facebook post that Kassenoff falsely called 911 and claimed she was “capable of killing him or their own children.”
He reportedly filmed her interrogation by police, who ultimately did not arrest her after they “realized he was lying,” she claimed.
In the email he sent on March 19, he detailed the ruinous sum of money he said she had forced him to spend out of love for his children, and said: “You should be really proud of me and you have decimated the children financially’.
Catherine and Allan were involved in a four-year custody battle over their daughters
The custody battle in Westchester has dragged on since 2019, records show.
In 2022, Catherine was fired from her job as special counsel to the Governor of New York after being arrested for violating a protective order. The charges were later dismissed.
In Catherine’s May 27 Facebook post, she also wrote about her third cancer diagnosis said she was not strong enough to endure “another grueling chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.”
She also said she kept her health secrets hidden because her husband “would have tried so much harder to end my existence.”
If you or someone you love is experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions, call the National Suicide Hotline on 988.