Judge issues new ruling in civil case involving Ja Morant
A Shelby County Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of part of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant’s motion to dismiss the civil case which alleges that Morant and his friend Davonte Pack beat up a teenager named Joshua Holloway during a pick-up basketball game in 2022.
According to the Commercial Appeal, Judge Carol Chumney allowed the civil case to remain paused as attorneys prepared to argue the constitutionality of Tennessee’s self-defense immunity statute.
Chumney agreed that the self-defense immunity statute applied to the case, despite Morant not specifically claiming it in his response to the lawsuit. Holloway’s attorneys argued that his case had been explicitly prejudiced by Morant not citing the immunity statute, therefore not allowing his attorneys to rebuke the NBA All-Star’s claim.
“Under the circumstances, the court is going to find that the affirmative defense… is not waived by the defendant. Even though it certainly could have been more specific in the reply,” Chumney said in her ruling. “Because the trial was not set until next year, the court finds that this was not going to prejudice the plaintiffs.”
The case will not be outright dismissed even with Chumney ruling in Morant’s favor. Chumney’s ruling has now triggered a constitutional challenge to the state’s self-defense immunity law.
“Of course, we’re disappointed that we were not successful on the waiver argument. And that the defendant has waived the right to even plead the immunity statute,” said Rebecca Adelman, Holloway’s lawyer. “However, we are pleased that the court wants to consider the constitutionality of this statute. And reserved the ruling to stay the case…pending a constitutional challenge to the statute.”
Ja Morant’s friend issued arrest warrant for fighting teenager at Morant’s home in 2022
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant Tuesday for Pack.
“The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant for the arrest of Davonte Pack, who has been charged with simple assault in relation to the July 2022 altercation involving Mr. Pack, Memphis Grizzlies basketball player Ja Morant, and a juvenile basketball player at Mr. Morant’s residence in Eads. The SCSO consulted with the SCDAG before obtaining the warrant,” Shelby County police said in a statement.
Morant has not been hit with any criminal charges as a result of the incident. The 23-year-old, however, remains in hot water after an eventful offseason off-the-court. The NBA suspended Morant 25 games for brandishing a gun in an Instagram Live video in May.
Morant was recorded in the passenger seat of a friend’s car when the camera panned for a split second. That was enough time to make out the outline of a gun. The video has since been deleted by the original poster, @_dtap2 on Instagram. Screen grabs have kept the video online and has since made its rounds on social media.
This was the second time in two months that he found himself in trouble over waving a gun around on Instagram Live. Back in March, Morant filmed himself pointing a gun at his camera on Instagram Live in a nightclub in Denver. He ended up stepping away from basketball for a few weeks. Morant also enrolled himself in a Florida counseling program before returning to the court. He was suspended eight games without pay for the incident.