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'Glee' Star Sues State Farm For Not Covering Sexual Battery Legal Costs
Mark Salling attends The Weinstein Company's 2013 Golden Globe Awards After Party on January 13, 2013. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
Mark Salling, who plays Puck on Glee, is suing his insurance company because they won't cover his legal defense for sexual battery allegations. Instead of quietly settling the original lawsuit— in which an ex girlfriend sued the actor for allegedly forcing her to have sex with him without a condom and then shoving her to the ground after she wanted to know his STD status—Salling is now suing State Farm.
According to TMZ, Salling says that State Farm's refusal is "despicable" and "malicious."
Salling claims in his lawsuit that his State Farm homeowner's policy requires the company to pay for his legal bills, but State Farm has repeatedly refused.
TMZ speculates that the company is invoking a provision that excludes criminal acts from its coverage.
The sexual battery case against the actor, which stems from 2011, is ongoing. When the suit was filed against him in January, Salling's rep told E! News, "There is no truth to this."
Salling's character was originally a regular on Glee. In June, The Hollywood Reporter noted that five original cast members—Dianna Agron, Heather Morris, Salling, Amber Riley and Harry Shum, Jr.—won't be back this coming season, although they may return for occasional guest appearances. Most had already been downgraded to recurring after their characters graduated from McKinley High.
Inquisitr claims the reason Puck is being written out of the show is largely due to Salling's offscreen behavior.
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