Arbitration demanded in suit against Dion’s spouse

Kim Smith

Friday, March 29, 2002 | 9:33 a.m.

A woman who claims the husband of singer Celine Dion raped her at the Imperial Palace two years ago should be forced to sit down with a third party to settle the dispute, attorneys for Rene Angelil said.

Angelil, Dion's husband, is being sued by the woman and her husband, both California residents.

The woman alleges Angelil met her at Caesars Palace, followed her to the Imperial Palace, fondled her in an elevator, followed her into her room, locked the door and sexually assaulted her in March 2000.

The incident was not reported to police, but the couple reached an agreement with Angelil after confronting his attorneys later that year. Angelil's attorneys claim that while the couple made certain allegations in May 2000, rape was not one of them.

Angelil's attorney, Kirby Smith, said the settlement took place because Angelil was fighting cancer and Dion was undergoing "very difficult" fertitility treatments.

In a motion filed late Tuesday -- about one week after the lawsuit was filed -- Smith asked District Judge Allan Earl to force the woman into binding arbitration.

Smith alleges that not only did the couple violate a confidentiality clause contained within the agreement, they ignored another clause that requires them to resolve future disputes "exclusively by confidential binding arbitration before the American Arbitration Association in Los Angeles."

The couples' claims that they were forced to settle their dispute with Angelil by their own attorneys doesn't release them from their promise to engage in arbitration, Smith wrote.

Smith said the couples' allegation that they don't speak English well and that contributed to the signing of the agreement can be proved false by witnesses and their own words.

The woman states she was unable to speak English, "but she was also fluent enough to allegedly have multiple conversations with Angelil and remember the alleged exact words spoken during those conversations," Smith wrote.

No date has been set for Earl to hear arguments on Smith's motion.

Dion, a 33-year-old Canadian singer, is best known for "My Heart Will Go On," from the film "Titanic." She is due to start a three-year, 600-show engagement at Caesars Palace in March 2003.