Exp Defendants Move To Toss Roberts Sexual Assault Lawsuit Ahead Of April Hearing

The remaining defendants in the Roberts sexual assault lawsuit have all independently filed motions seeking dismissal of the case. Last week, Michael Bjorkman and David Golden, two former top recruiting agents at eXp Realty, as well as eXp World Holdings and its CEO, Glenn Sanford, all filed motions for summary judgement in the sexual assault lawsuit filed against them by plaintiff Anya Roberts. 

Originally filed in December 2023, the lawsuit centers around a recruiting event hosted by Brent Gove in February 2020, a sunset cruise that Gove dubbed “Freedom Summit.” Roberts alleges that the girlfriend of David Golden, one of the men she has claimed sexually assaulted her, placed a pill in her mouth and told her it was Adderall. Instead, it was a drug that caused Roberts to black out.

While Roberts said she doesn’t remember the majority of what happened after blacking out, she said that through the testimony of others at the event, flashes of memory that came back to her and contextual clues, she concluded that she was raped by Golden and another former eXp agent Michael Bjorkman. Neither Bjorkman nor Golden are currently affiliated with eXp. Gove and Roberts reached a settlement regarding these claims in January of 2026. 

In their motions filed on Friday, the eXp defendants and Sanford argue that Roberts cannot show that eXp Realty or Sanford knew of the alleged conduct of Bjorkman and Golden and that eXp Realty or Sanford cannot be held “vicariously liable” for Bjorkman’s and Golden’s actions under the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Reauthorization Act.

Additionally, the two defendants argue that the court should grant summary judgement on Roberts’ claim of negligent hiring, retention and supervision because neither eXp nor Sanford breached any duty owed to Roberts and even if they “had breached a duty owed to Roberts, there is no causal connection between that purported breach of duty and Roberts’ alleged injuries.” 

Sanford and the eXp defendants had previously been dismissed from a prior complaint in the lawsuit in May 2024, but were again named as defendants in an amended complaint.

Judge Andre Birotte, who is overseeing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, has scheduled a hearing regarding all four motions for summary judgement for April 17, 2026. 

In an emailed statement an eXp spokesperson wrote that the company “has zero tolerance for abuse, harassment, or misconduct of any kind — including by the independent real estate agents who use our services.”

“eXp hopes and trusts that the court will give a full and fair hearing to the plaintiffs as they continue to pursue claims against the individuals who allegedly assaulted them,” the spokesperson added. “However, the claims against eXp World Holdings, eXp Realty, and Glenn Sanford have no basis in fact or law, which is why the defendants recently filed motions for summary judgment seeking dismissal of those claims. We strongly believe the claims against them are without merit and will continue to vigorously defend against them.”