Lawyer for Ratner accuser fires back at director: 'See you in court'

— -- A spokesperson for Melanie Kohler, who has accused director Brett Ratner of raping her years ago, said today she will "not be intimidated" by the defamation lawsuit Ratner has filed in response to her allegation.

Ratner filed the suit in Hawaii federal court on Wednesday.

"The goal of these lawsuits is to intimidate women. Our goal is to stop the behavior. Melanie will not be intimidated,” Kohler's spokesperson Bill Burton told ABC News.

Her lawyer Robbie Kaplan added, "We always knew that they would pick one woman to victimize further in an effort to bully other women into silence. Mr. Ratner and his lawyers can try to erase the truth through threats and intimidation, but courts decide cases based on the facts and the law. So our message to Mr. Ratner and his lawyer is short and simple: See you in court."

Ratner's suit, filed by attorney Eric Seitz, is not tied to The Los Angeles Times report from earlier this week, where six women alleged that Ratner, 48, either sexually harassed or assaulted them. Kohler was not named in the article and she has since taken down her Facebook post where she claimed she was raped by the Hollywood director.

"This is an action for defamation arising from the defendant's deliberately false and malicious accusations that plaintiff raped the defendant 'about 12 years ago,'" according to the suit, which was obtained by ABC News.

"Commencing on or about Oct. 20, 2017, defendant recklessly and/or intentionally posted a statement on her Facebook page claiming that 'Brett Ratner raped [her]," the suit said.

Kohler said she had met the director at a Los Angeles club more than 12 years ago. She claimed Ratner took her to the home of fellow producer Robert Evans, where Ratner "forced her" to have sex, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, noting that Ratner wants a "jury trial" to clear his name.

This legal development comes on the heels of The LA Times piece, where six actresses, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, told the paper that Ratner was sexually inappropriate and/or abusive. Munn claims that as an aspiring actress she was forced to witness him pleasuring himself, while Henstridge claims he "physically forced himself" on her for oral sex.

In a statement to ABC News, Ratner's general counsel, Martin Singer, denied the allegations against his client.

"Brett Ratner vehemently denies the outrageous derogatory allegations that have been reported about him, and we are confident that his name will be cleared once the current media frenzy dies down and people can objectively evaluate the nature of these claims," Singer said in the statement. "He understands the seriousness of this issue and the importance of addressing the concerns of victims of sexual misconduct both in the entertainment industry and beyond."

While Warner Bros. now says it's reviewing the accusations against the filmmaker, putting on hold a long-in-development Hugh Hefner biopic Ratner was to produce and direct, Ratner released a statement to ABC News regarding his relationship with the studio, noting, "I am choosing to personally step away from all Warner Bros.-related activities. I don’t want to have any possible negative impact to the studio until these personal issues are resolved."

ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.