No compensation, no representation
Maxwell's lawyer asks out of lawsuit because he's not getting paid
Posted: Tuesday August 25, 1998 06:10 PM
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Maxwell served a 90-day sentence in the Harris County Jail earlier this year for a 1995 marijuana possession conviction AP |
HOUSTON (AP) -- A state legislator has been allowed to withdraw as the
attorney for NBA player Vernon Maxwell, who's been sued by a woman who
accuses him of knowingly giving her herpes.
State Representative Ron Wilson, D-Houston, told District Judge John
Donovan that the former Houston Rockets guard
is unable to compensate him for defending him.
Donovan granted the motion last Friday.
Maxwell's trial is set to begin Friday, and it is unclear if he has a new
attorney.
Messages left with Wilson were not immediately returned Tuesday. There was
no answer at the office of Maxwell's agent, Dwight Manley of Orange County,
California.
Maxwell played last season for the Charlotte Hornets.
Sheila Rias sued him in 1996 for allegedly knowingly giving her herpes
during a brief relationship in Houston in the summer of 1995.
Maxwell, 33, served a 90-day sentence in the Harris County Jail earlier
this year for a 1995 marijuana possession conviction.
Attorney Phillip Bryan, who represents the woman, said in court in
February that Maxwell received $42,000 a month as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in
1997. Bryan refused comment Monday.
Wilson told Donovan in May that Maxwell had not yet paid fines of $762 and
$750 that were months overdue because Maxwell did not have the money.
The judge in February granted Ms. Rias a default judgement of $592,000
because Maxwell and Wilson did not respond to the lawsuit. The judgment was
dropped a month later and Maxwell was granted a new trial after he claimed
he had not been properly served.
But Donovan granted Rias another default judgment in April 1996 because
Maxwell still had not responded. However, he was given a second new trial
before the amount of that judgment was determined.
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