Deshaun Watson may have to testify in sexual misconduct suit

After three years of pending lawsuits towards dozens of ladies, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson could also be compelled to testify as soon as once more in one of many final remaining sexual misconduct circumstances towards him.

An lawyer for a lady who filed a swimsuit towards Watson in October 2022 requested a Harris County, Texas court docket to compel Watson to testify in an in-person deposition earlier than Aug. 1, according to paperwork obtained by USA In the present day.

“Plaintiff seeks an order from this Court docket compelling the re-deposition of Defendant Watson to be able to propound allowable discovery and have such solutions produced,” stated the court docket submitting submitted by David Bickham, one of many lady’s attorneys.

Watson final appeared for deposition on this case again in June. Nevertheless, the deposition was temporary as a result of Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, improperly compelled Watson to not reply questions associated to different pending circumstances, like asking whether or not he had been sexually aroused throughout different therapeutic massage classes. Watson confronted 26 ladies accusing him of sexual misconduct throughout therapeutic massage classes. Watson and his lawyer claimed the quarterback typically had consensual sexual encounters throughout therapeutic massage classes however denied any wrongdoing. The Cleveland Browns quarterback reached undisclosed settlements with 23 of the 26 ladies. One dropped her case shortly after submitting it, and two extra stay.

On this explicit case, Hardin aggressively denies that Watson allegedly pressured this lady into oral intercourse in December 2020. Hardin accused the woman of unrequited love and tore into one among her attorneys, Anissah Nguyen, over a line of questioning to Watson.

“Not solely is your lawsuit irrational and has no worth in any respect, however we’re not going to be making an attempt different incidents in different circumstances,” Hardin stated to Nguyen, in response to the transcript obtained by USA In the present day. “There’s no secret on the planet that he was sued by a number of ladies and settled a number of lawsuits. However we’re not going to attempt these circumstances once more, and we’re not going to be answering questions on these different circumstances, all of that are the topic of Confidentiality Agreements.

“You − you jumped in on the final minute,” Hardin continued. “The proof goes to point out and has proven already with the filings simply what a bogus lawsuit that is. And you’ll’t simply file a lawsuit towards a person that has some cash after which get to enter any and every little thing. Not going to occur. If you wish to take it to the Court docket, you are able to do so, however he isn’t going to reply about different incidents. You ask a person to come back in right here and ask did he ever get an erection throughout a therapeutic massage, we’re not answering these sort of questions. We are going to reply something you need about (the plaintiff within the case) and her − and his encounter along with her.”