JD.com said it will defend itself vigorously after a University of Minnesota student accused Richard Liu, the billionaire founder and CEO of China’s second biggest e-commerce company, of rape in a lawsuit filed in Minneapolis on Tuesday, four months after prosecutors declined to pursue a criminal case.
The lawsuit, which JD’s lawyers described as meritless, also names JD.com as a defendant and seeks more than US$50,000 in damages. The student, Liu Jingyao, is identified in the complaint as a University of Minnesota undergraduate.