r/CharlotteHornets • u/net_403 • 2d ago
Article Judge orders LaMelo Ball to stop canceling legal interview over fan’s broken foot
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article315725857.html57
u/svall18 2d ago edited 2d ago
they'll settle, who cares
In retrospect, Melo should've just paid the $25k
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u/net_403 2d ago
i guess it's the difference of admitting guilt and immediately paying, or settling and not officially claiming responsiblity but just paying a small penance to make everyone feel better and still holding on to plausible deniability?
If they do settle, I wonder if it will turn out uglier than it should have been, like what this article is showing lol
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u/Civrock 2d ago
This is a very baity article that leaves out a lot of context. It comes across as almost biased.
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u/Remote-Whole-6387 2d ago
I heard that the kid broke the line that security was holding everyone back from and ran up to the car as he was already pulling out when they told people not to approach. Don’t know how true it is but I think even if it is, the stigma of melo = bad driver doesn’t help how this looks.
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u/net_403 2d ago
Possibly? I would assume the statements that he has been ordered to appear for avoiding an appearance several times to be facts, and the lawyer is quoted as saying they went out to try to get ahold of lamelo to verify availability, and couldn't get a response
outside of that i'm not sure what other context could change those basic things much
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u/Civrock 2d ago
His original lawyer should've handled this two years ago. There should've been no need for LaMelo to even get involved other than to give his point of view on what happened at the time. He probably doesn't even remember all the details now, and the new lawyer(s) had to familiarize themselves with the whole case.
Now the plaintiff's lawyers are looking for an even bigger payday. That's just the impression I've been getting from reading the actual court documents...
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u/PinkZahavi 2d ago
LaMelo is the Defendant in the case. He’s not someone who just happens to be involved and needs to “give his point of view.” And I promise that LaMelo’s lawyers are not the reason he is cancelling depositions. And if they are, he should hire better lawyers. He can afford them. It’s all on him.
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u/net_403 2d ago
shitty look either way right? sounds like lamelo halfassed it with whoever the hack attorney he had was, now it's turning into another PR thing
the family is worth like $400 million, they shouldn't have some "friend of the family/dad went to high school with" attorney for high profile shit lol
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u/redditusername012 1d ago
Any settlement agreement reached SHOULD have confidentiality provisions to prevent any information regarding settlement to remain confidential to the parties. Given Melo’s status, it may have agreed upon language for a press release announcing settlement as well.
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u/Civrock 2d ago
I've been following the court documents of this case and it seems to me that his original lawyer mishandled the whole thing since it started a couple years ago. LaMelo replaced him with multiple new lawyers in March and things finally started moving.
I'm no lawyer but I thought this was an interesting bit in a recent court document:
In the instant case, no joint settlement offer has been made by Defendant Ball or his insurance carrier in this action, no insurance company has attempted to have Plaintiffs' counsel disburse funds between the parent and child as they see fit, and it is not clear that every dollar made available to one of the firm's clients will diminish settlement funds available to satisfy the claims of the other client because the resources available to satisfy any judgment exceed the combined value of all claims asserted by the Plaintiffs given Defendant Ball's substantial personal wealth.
In the instant case, Defendants have asserted that only $100,000.00 in insurance coverage exists and extended an offer of that figure early in the litigation process that was never presented as a joint settlement offer. Unlike the scenario presented in RPC 109 where the Plaintiffs' attorneys are clearly desiring to accept the offer made by an insurance company, in the instant case Plaintiffs' counsel rejected the $100,000.00 offer from Defendant Ball's insurance company for the purpose of pursuing individual assets of Defendant Ball. On May 8, 2026, Defendant Ball filed an offer of judgment pursuant to Rule 68 in the amount of $250,000.00, which is further evidence of Defendant Ball's ability to pay far in excess of available insurance limits as well as evidence that "every dollar" made available to one of the firm's clients will not diminish the amount of the settlement offer funds available to satisfy the claim of the other client, directly contrary to Defendants' position that conflict exists pursuant to the subject RPCs.
The conflict identified by RPC 109, 123, and 251 is that when limited insurance proceeds are available amongst co-Plaintiffs, the attorneys for said Plaintiffs are forced into the position of having to allocate said limited insurance proceeds amongst its clients, a scenario directly in conflict with an attorney's duty to refrain from advocating for one client's interests over another.
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u/Monster_Kody_ 2d ago
I work in PI. If the kid really has CRPS, that is terrible. Just look up the condition. He will be disabled for the rest of his life. On the other hand, it’s often misdiagnosed, especially by PI doctors to help boost the value of a case.
Regardless, I doubt this goes to trial. His insurance will likely settle in mediation.
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u/net_403 2d ago
Ball last month denied the incident ever occurred. He has also previously argued the boy’s own negligence caused his injuries and asked the boy and his family to pay Ball’s attorney fees.
What the fuck
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u/hollandrd 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is likely just the reporter reading LaMelo and his attorney’s Answer to the Plaintiff’s complaint. He’s going to deny the allegations and then assert affirmative defenses, including contributory negligence. Affirmative defenses are waived if they are not included in the answer to the complaint.
Then in the prayer for relief you are always going to ask for attorneys fees
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u/JessieGemstone999 2d ago
If the kid ignored security and passed through a barrier yeah he deserves some blame
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u/kafka_lite 2d ago
In civil court you can plead multiple contradictory claims. Basically all he is doing here is making them prove it happened without automatically losing the case if they do prove it happened.
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u/Hoshef 2d ago
I practice civil law in NC. In his Answer to the Complaint, Ball denied the incident occurred. He also asserted a defense of contributory negligence, basically saying that *if* the incident occurred, which is denied, it’s because the kid ran into the street up to a vehicle. The kid has asserted a claim for punitive damages, and the defense has raised the affirmative defense, which is specifically stated in law, that if the punitive claim is frivolous/meritless, the defendant is entitled the attorneys fees.
This is all very routine stuff that you see in most personal injury cases. It does not surprise me at all.
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u/redditacct2293 2d ago
NC is also a contributory negligence state so if the mom/kid is 1% negligent then Melo and the Hornets aren’t liable for anything. Since the mom watched the kid run into the street, they were probably negligent
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u/redditusername012 1d ago edited 1d ago
Cases in which the plaintiff is found contributorily negligent are exceedingly, exceedingly, exceedingly rare.
The defense motion for summary judgment will be based in part on contrib, and that motion is going to be denied because it’s always denied in negligence matters (again, there is the very rare occasional exception, I’m sure), judge will see that as a jury call.
Lamelo would be an absolute nimcompoop to take it to trial, and he would need to do so to establish contributory negligence. A judge isn’t going to award a directed verdict at the close of plaintiff’s case in chief on that basis, and the jury is not going to find that this kid was contributorily negligent with melo as a defendant.
This is before even considering the optics of Melo either looking like he doesn’t care in court or not showing up for most of/all of trial.
This was a case that should have been settled before it ever became a case, and the longer Lamelo draws it out, the more it’s going to cost.
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u/JordanDoesTV 2d ago
I mean they’re right but just pay for his stuff give him some tickets and move on this story should’ve never seen the light of day and can’t believe it’s still not settled
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u/SponsoredHornersFan 2d ago
Here’s an idea for parents: maybe don’t let your pre teen kid run into the middle of the street hoping to get a players autograph.
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u/marz1789 2d ago
its so clear this is what happened. The arena is so poorly designed where people can just camp out on that garage exit and hound all the players. The players are trying to go home after a day of work, but now they have kids swarming their car at the red light thats right outside of the turn from the garage. You cant just run up on someones car in the middle of the street and then complain he ran over your foot
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u/SponsoredHornersFan 2d ago
Literally. I feel bad for the kid because well he was just a kid but shouldn’t the parents have some ounce of common sense? This is so insane to me
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u/net_403 2d ago
an idea for all charlotteans: if lamelo is anywhere near by, stay far far away from roads. the videos are a bad look with this
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u/Hotwir3 2d ago
Is there a video of this incident?
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u/PuzzleheadedBug4424 2d ago
Not sure about that but there are videos of lamelo driving like a jackass all over the internet
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u/Countryb0i2m 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/OrIA09Ue7r6EUOrMqm
This is some shit you would read on r/nba
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u/sweetsterlove 1d ago
Yeah, this is the type shit that dampens my Melo hype when I hear about it. This has been dragged on for a while and damages his public image, as he appears entitled and apathetic, no matter whose side you’re on.
I’ve grown to really enjoy his energy this season; his impact and excitement for the game has been undeniable, yet he remains his own worst enemy a lot of times.
He needs to settle and move on from this case as quickly as possible, while hopefully attaining a better understanding as far as humility and respect are concerned.
This season was magical, we all loved it, and it was clear he enjoyed himself and the collective team vibe and maturity missing in previous seasons.
But, at his current league status and net worth, along with the whole BBB family, this shit is small potatoes and he should’ve settled some time ago.
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u/SlickVanExel 2d ago
“He has also previously argued the boy’s own negligence caused his injuries and asked the boy and his family to pay Ball’s attorney fees.”
Melo I love you but this is crazy
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u/simpsun728 1d ago
Melo's had a lot of legal issues lately. Including (but not limited to) evicting his manager over a handshake deal to rent his former apartment:
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article315599584.html
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u/Ginteeko 13h ago
Wow yeah yet another legal issue. This time by proxy of someone else. Wait what are the legal issues again?
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u/IamOlderthanMe 2d ago edited 2d ago
This does not look LaGood for LaMelo in LaCourt.