Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz was accused of an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old ballerina by an American couple in a third-party complaint filed against Katz..On August 3, the American couple, Mitchell Taylor Button and Dusty Button withdrew the third-party complaint and apologized to Katz..The complaint was part of a legal battle the Buttons have with Sage Humphries, a former ballerina..The Buttons are being sued by Humphries and six other ballerinas for “an intentional combination of emotional control, financial manipulation, and sexual abuse.”.They accused Katz of paying Humphries for sex when she was only 17..Humphries and Katz both said they had no sexual relationship of any kind..READ MORE Edmonton Oilers owner allegedly paid for sex with 17-year-old ballerina.They did have business-related contact, but Humphries was 18 at the time of their communications, which was related to a possible movie venture..The Buttons apologized to Katz, saying they had incorrect information about the contact between Humphries and Katz. .“Dusty and Mitchell Button made their allegations based on their understanding of information provided to them by Sage Humphries,” said the Button's lawyer Marc Randazza in a written statement..“Nevertheless, Mr Katz’s counsel provided the Buttons with credible evidence that key allegations were not true… Based on this credible evidence, Dusty Button and Mitchell Button have dismissed their claims against Daryl Katz.”.“I want to personally apologize for any harm the erroneous factual claims may have caused to Mr Katz and his family. We brought the claims in good faith, but the moment I doubted the ability to maintain them, I took corrective action and asked the court to strike all relevant references from the record. Nobody should repeat those allegations in any context without noting they have been withdrawn and repudiated.”.Oilers spokesman Tim Shipton said Katz and his family are glad the false claim was withdrawn..“It’s been a very trying time for Daryl and his family, they are relieved these claims have been dismissed,” said Shipton..Randazza said the Buttons thought Humphries was born in 1998, making her 17 when she interacted with Katz. .Humphries was born in 1997, making her 18 at the time..Randazza said the Buttons could have waited for the judge to decide Humphries age, but because of credible evidence showing she was 18, they apologized to Katz immediately..“It is simply unfair to accuse Mr Katz … of having been involved with Sage Humphries when she was 17 years old if there is any reliable evidence to the contrary,” said Randazza in the court filing..“It is worth noting that had Sage Humphries not been dishonest about her year of birth in the first place, this misunderstanding could not have been possible.”
