Oakland County Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen on Wednesday dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against well-known attorney Michael Morse ruling that his accuser committed perjury.

“Faced with the facts presented, the court concludes that the plaintiff lied under oath,” McMillan wrote in a nine-page ruling . “There is no indication that her answers were mere mistakes or that she misunderstood the questions. She apparently just wanted to hide the truth, which was detrimental to her case and potentially embarrassing.”

Renee Swain of Novi, a former stripper, sued Morse in May 2017, claiming that he grabbed her breast when she asked him to pose for a selfie photograph at Lellie’s on the Green restaurant in Farmington Hills. Swain was represented by attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who announced the lawsuit at a press conference that was live-streamed on the internet.

Morse denied the accusation and his lawyers later said that the suit was a money grab by Swain and a chance for Fieger to attack a rival lawyer who practices in the lucrative personal injury lawsuit business.

At issue in the perjury finding was testimony Swain gave in a January deposition about her relationship with a man named Ken, whom Morse's lawyer, Deborah Gordon, called a "sugar daddy."

Gordon asked Swain about payments she received from Ken. Swain described him as a friend and acknowledged that he paid her for about three months and bought her things. But she denied the payments extended beyond that.

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Gordon had already learned from Ken that the payments were more enduring and she subpoenaed Swain’s bank records to prove it.

“The questions … were aimed at discovering an improper motive for her to pursue this lawsuit,” McMillen wrote. “(Swain) was asked about monthly deposits to her bank account which were being reduced or stopped altogether shortly before this lawsuit was filed.”

Swain testified in her deposition that she worked on and off as a stripper in 2006 and 2007 and met Ken through another dancer. They socialized, including visiting strip clubs together. Swain was attempting to continue her education and Ken would help her with expenses, she said.

Gordon said Fieger’s firm tried to prevent the release of the bank records, which eventually showed Swain had received $291,500 from Ken.

“Knowing full well that the bank records would show the truth, Fieger’s firm filed an ‘emergency motion’ on January 23 to quash the subpoena, stating that the purpose was only to ‘harass’ plaintiff,” Gordon said. “The Fieger firm is complicit in the attempt to perpetrate a fraud.”

Gordon said she will ask the court to order Fieger to reimburse Morse for legal expenses, adding she plans to file a grievance against Fieger with the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission for his conduct in the case.

Fieger did not return messages left at his office seeking comment.

McMillen said dismissing the lawsuit was severe but necessary.

“The court acknowledges the harshness of the sanction, but when balanced against the gravity of plaintiff’s misconduct, it is appropriate,” she wrote.

Fieger represented five women in all who accused Morse of sexual misconduct. Four of those cases have been dismissed and a fifth one is pending in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Fieger and Morse operate law offices less than a mile apart in Southfield and have become bitter competitors.

Fieger became famous for representing assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian. Morse is a household name in metro Detroit thanks to his ubiquitous television advertising.

Contact John Wisely: 313-222-6825 or jwisely@freepress.com. On Twitter @jwisely