In a surprising turn of events, a Georgia man has dropped his lawsuit against former NBA star Dwight Howard, where he had accused Howard of sexual assault.
The case was officially dismissed in Gwinnett County court earlier this week, with Stephen Harper, the plaintiff, unable to refile the lawsuit as it was dismissed with prejudice.
What makes this development even more intriguing is that no reason was provided for Harper’s decision to back down.
His legal team, consisting of attorneys Olga Izmaylova and Sadeer Sabbak, remained tight-lipped, not responding to requests for comment.
On the other side, Howard’s attorney, Justin Bailey, was clear that his client didn’t offer any settlement or financial compensation to Harper. Bailey also declined to comment further on the dismissal.
Related: Dwight Howard Releases Statement Regarding Sexual Assault Allegations
Back in July, court documents filed by Howard’s legal team accused Harper of deleting text messages that allegedly proved their encounter was consensual.
According to Howard’s attorneys, Harper had tried to manipulate the situation after Howard ceased communication with him, planning to “expose” the former NBA player.
The legal filing also called for Harper and his attorneys to cover Dwight Howard’s legal fees as a result of these allegations.
To add another layer of complexity, Gwinnett County police revealed that Stephen Harper had filed a police report nearly a year after the incident, but never followed through with an interview despite several attempts by detectives to meet with him.
This case may have been dismissed, but the drama surrounding it is far from over.
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Source: AP News
