There’s really no way to avoid being happy for LeBron James here. A man alleging he was James’ father filed suit against James and his mother for a variety of fairly ridiculous claims, including defamation of character, and... get this, loss of love and affection.
Apparently the legal system is not an abject failure, because a judge tossed the suit Friday. From the Blog of Legal Times, via the ABA Journal:Stovell, a former lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, hoped to get a new paternity test and asked for millions in damages. He said James and his mother, Gloria James, defamed his character and committed fraud in concealing the identity of the father.
In an opinion filed late today, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted a request by James and his mother to dismiss the case. The judge wrote that, among other problems, Stovell’s lawsuit failed to show that he had incurred any actual damages, such as lost commercial opportunities.
“Apparently, Stovell believes that companies are willing to pay him for being the father of LeBron James. However, any such recovery would be wholly speculative,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in the 21-page opinion.
via Judge Rules for LeBron James, Tosses Paternity Suit - The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.
The pursuit of damages for loss and affection were also laughed out of court, because, well, they’re ridiculous. I don’t think you need to be a lawyer to understand that point.
It shows just exactly what James goes through. James is unquestionably one of the most arrogant players in the history of the league. He embarrassed Cleveland with “The Decision” and brought humiliation upon himself with the preseason presser. His comments speak to exceptional arrogance. But for all indications, James had a pretty rough time growing up. He came up without a father, and loves his mother deeply despite her numerous problems. She’s his mom. No one deserves to have a man claim to be the person who was never there for you as a father then try and sue you. That’s just low. You don’t have to like James to find him sympathetic in this case, and to be happy the legal system succeeded for him.
(HT: CBS EOB)
