If you haven’t been following Derrick Rose‘s court case, now is the time to get in. This is not a light situation. Rape is a serious matter. This case is odd. The New York Knicks new point guard is being sued along with two friends. The woman who has accused Derrick Rose is seeking nearly $21 million in the case. This woman was actually in a relationship with Derrick Rose for 20 months.
The Derrick Rose Civil Case is Significant
At this point it sounds like the case is going to devolve into a he said/she said case, but the reason this case is even a story is because Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald has refused Rose’s request to dismiss the case. The judge feels there is too much evidence that doesn’t corroborate with Rose’s story. The Chicago Tribune wrote:
In denying Rose’s request to toss out the lawsuit, the judge said Rose’s version of events “could well convince a reasonable jury,” but there was substantial disagreement over the facts and a jury also could conclude the opposite.
What Rose claims is that this is not a rape case but rather an extortion case. His legal team attempted to dismiss the rape allegations on these grounds. The judge disagreed with Rose’s legal team and that is why the case is moving forward. Rose did win motions to exclude and limit damages and witnesses. The New York Post quoted Rose:
“This is not a rape case,” Rose said in a May filing. “It’s pure and simple extortion by a plaintiff who does not want anyone to be deposed because every lay witness in the case will shred plaintiff’s story.” According to sports lawyer Dan Werley, Rose did win motions to exclude or limit the plaintiff’s expert witnesses and to separate the punitive damages aspect of trial.
The case gets weirder
It gets really strange. Former Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose is claiming that the sex was consensual. So Derrick Rose is acknowledging that the sex did take place. He says this entire case is a result of “Jane Doe” wanting to be reimbursed for a sex toy used during the night in question. Meanwhile she is making the case that she was drugged and incapacitated during the night when Derrick Rose and his friends came to her residence. TMZ described the documents:
In the docs, Rose says the woman only began to get upset with him a few weeks or months later because she felt she should have been reimbursed for one of the sex toys she bought and used during the night in question.
Then Derrick Rose brought in a testimony from the former roommate who gave Rose’s legal team access to text messages and called the allegations a “sham”. Now Rose’s legal team wants to use text messages to ask “Jane Doe” questions because they believe she was coached. Remember they also asked that certain witnesses and text messages be excluded and won that motion. Very strange indeed. The Chicago Tribune quoted her roommate:
“I believe Jane Doe’s efforts to extort money from Derrick Rose based on sham allegations is unfair and inappropriate,” the accuser’s former roommate and co-worker, Keyana LaVergne, said in the filing.
The text messages were obtained by a website through the roommate. Jane Doe’s legal team asserts that the text messages were edited to portray her in a bad light. She also claims the roommate is selling the text messages. A claim the roommate denies. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 4 in Los Angeles. It will likely be a civil case.
