Joe Carnahan and Michelle Crosby Lawsuit: What the Court Record Shows About Allegations Against ‘The Rip’ Director
Filmmaker Joe Carnahan, writer and director of Netflix crime thriller The Rip, has moved quickly onto another major streaming project. In August, Deadline reported that Carnahan had signed on to direct Mark Wahlberg in Netflix action thriller The Operator. The announcement puts the filmmaker back in the entertainment-industry spotlight months after serious allegations made by his former partner, attorney Michelle Crosby, became public through litigation in Los Angeles.
The allegations are part of Los Angeles Superior Court case 24NNCV03237, Joseph A. Carnahan v. Michelle Crosby. Publicly indexed court records show Carnahan originally filed the case on July 31, 2024. His complaint arose from a dispute involving a Porsche that he says he allowed Crosby to use and that she allegedly damaged and failed to return. Crosby subsequently brought claims of her own against Carnahan.
Those competing claims have transformed what began as a property dispute into a much broader civil battle involving sharply conflicting accounts of the former couple’s relationship.
Michelle Crosby alleges sexual battery, assault and stalking
Crosby’s cross-complaint accuses Carnahan of sexual battery, assault and stalking, along with other civil claims. Reporting by TheWrap, Us Weekly and other outlets that reviewed the legal filings says Crosby alleges that Carnahan physically attacked her during their relationship, which began around 2020 and ended in 2024.
One of the central allegations concerns a 2024 hotel encounter. Crosby alleges that an encounter that began consensually became violent when Carnahan pulled her hair after she told him to stop. Her court filing describes the incident as part of what she alleges was a broader pattern of physical violence.
Other reporting on the cross-complaint describes Crosby alleging a separate confrontation at Carnahan’s Sierra Madre residence in which she says he grabbed her by the throat and forced her to the ground. These descriptions are allegations contained in civil litigation.
Crosby also brought a breach-of-contract claim relating to her contention that she and Carnahan had discussed establishing a production company together. TheWrap reported that Crosby additionally seeks damages connected with approximately $3 million in luxury property she alleges was taken from her. Carnahan disputes her allegations.
Joe Carnahan denies Crosby’s allegations
Carnahan has denied the assault and sexual-battery allegations.
In a statement provided to media in January, his representative characterized their relationship as consensual and said it ended in the spring of 2024. Carnahan’s side also accused Crosby of threatening to make allegations public around the release of The Rip. His representative said earlier allegations against Carnahan had been dismissed in July 2025 and said he had sought a permanent restraining order against Crosby.
Carnahan’s own lawsuit also contains allegations against Crosby. Public reporting says he accused her of damaging the Porsche, failing to return it and harassing him, including allegations of physical assault. He sought damages connected to the vehicle and an order restricting contact. Crosby disputes Carnahan’s account of their relationship and has advanced her own allegations through her cross-complaint.
The result is a case in which both sides have accused the other of misconduct, making the distinction between allegations, verified procedural events and judicial findings particularly important.
Prosecutors did not file criminal charges
Crosby also reported allegations to law enforcement.
TheWrap reported that authorities in Riverside County considered the hotel allegation but declined to pursue criminal charges because of insufficient evidence. Crosby also brought stalking allegations to Los Angeles authorities; criminal charges were not filed there either.
A prosecutor’s decision not to file criminal charges is distinct from the civil litigation. Criminal cases require prosecutors to believe evidence can establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while civil litigation operates under different standards and procedures.
Accordingly, the lack of criminal charges should not be described either as proof of Crosby’s allegations or as a judicial finding that the alleged conduct did not occur. The civil claims remain matters to be resolved through the court process to the extent they remain pending.
Court docket shows activity into July 2026
Publicly indexed docket information indicates that the litigation continued well beyond the initial 2024 complaint and the media coverage that followed in January 2026.
The docket lists tentative rulings in June 2025, December 2025 and July 2026. Most recently, it identifies a July 10, 2026 hearing concerning a motion for leave to file a Third Amended Complaint before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victor Avila. The public index available through Trellis does not, in the material reviewed by Investor News for this report, provide enough information to characterize the ultimate disposition of every claim.
What the docket does establish is that case 24NNCV03237 continued to generate substantive procedural activity into mid-2026.
That timeline is important because Carnahan’s January representative said allegations against him had been “dismissed” in July 2025. Publicly indexed records nevertheless show later proceedings in the same civil case. The precise scope and legal effect of the earlier dismissal referenced by Carnahan’s representative should therefore be distinguished from the later procedural history of the case.
Carnahan’s Netflix career has continued
The litigation has unfolded while Carnahan’s career has remained highly active.
Netflix released The Rip globally on January 16, 2026. The crime thriller stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott Adkins and Kyle Chandler. Carnahan wrote and directed the film.
Artists Equity identifies Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Luciana Damon and Dani Bernfeld as producers, with Netflix attached to the project. Carnahan is credited as writer and director rather than as a producer of the film.
TheWrap reported that The Rip attracted 41.6 million views in its initial performance on Netflix, giving Carnahan one of the most visible projects of his career just as the allegations became the subject of national entertainment coverage.
His relationship with Netflix appears to be continuing.
On August 26, 2026, Deadline reported that Carnahan had signed on to direct The Operator, an action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg from a screenplay by Harrison Query. The project is being produced by The Picture Company, Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson’s Municipal Pictures, and Scott Glassgold’s 12:01 Films.
That new assignment provides a current industry context for a civil dispute that otherwise received its most significant media attention around The Rip‘s January release.
What is established — and what remains disputed
Several facts can be separated from the parties’ conflicting allegations.
The Los Angeles civil case exists and was initiated by Carnahan in July 2024. Crosby subsequently asserted serious allegations against him through a cross-complaint. Carnahan has denied those allegations and has made allegations of his own against Crosby. Prosecutors have not filed criminal charges based on the incidents described in the public reporting. And publicly indexed court records show procedural activity in the litigation extending into July 2026.
What has not been established by the sources reviewed for this report is a court finding that Carnahan committed the alleged sexual battery, assault or stalking. Those allegations should therefore continue to be identified explicitly as Crosby’s claims rather than stated as proven facts.
Likewise, allegations Carnahan has made against Crosby should be treated as allegations unless supported by a final judicial determination.
For readers seeking to follow the litigation directly, the identifying information is Joseph A. Carnahan v. Michelle Crosby, Los Angeles Superior Court case No. 24NNCV03237.
As Carnahan begins work connected to another high-profile Netflix production, the court record means the dispute between the filmmaker and his former partner remains part of the public record surrounding his career.
