Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is settling 20 of 24 misconduct lawsuits against him, accuser’s attorney says
Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents all 24 of Watson’s accusers, announced Tuesday that all but four lawsuits have been settled and the cases will be dismissed once paperwork is completed.
“We are working through the paperwork related to these settlements,” Buzbee said in a statement. “Once we do so, these cases will be dismissed. The terms and amounts of the settlements are confidential. We will have no further comment on the settlements or these cases.”
The lawsuits filed by Watson’s first accuser, Ashley Solis, and three other women will be heard “in due course,” Buzbee said.
CNN has reached out to Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, for comment but has not yet heard back.
Meanwhile, Watson remains under investigation by the NFL, which could suspend him if it finds he violated the league’s personal conduct rules. NFL officials met with Watson for three days in May and have requested another day, said Hardin told CNN earlier this month.
The NFL told CNN in a statement that Tuesday’s development “does not impact the collectively agreed upon disciplinary process.”
Amid the accusations became Watson from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns traded and reportedly received a five-year contract with a guaranteed amount of $230 million, the highest guaranteed contract ever given to an NFL player ( ESPN reported).
Die Browns defended the decisionto sign Watson – who was facing 22 malpractice lawsuits at the time – noting that they had previously conducted a “comprehensive evaluation.”
Earlier this month, Katy Williams, a former massage therapist in Houston, filed the 24th lawsuit against Watson.
Williams says she had two encounters with Watson at her apartment in August 2020. The first session was professional, her lawsuit says, but during the second he exposed himself and engaged in unwanted sexual acts.
Hardin responded to Williams’ filing of the lawsuit, telling CNN earlier this month: “We cannot respond to the new lawsuit at this time. Our legal team has not yet had time to review this new lawsuit and was unaware of her name until today “Deshaun continues to deny that he did anything inappropriate with any of the plaintiffs.”
In March rejected it two different Texas juries ab, Watson anzu sued after investigating the allegations against him.
The first in Harris County investigated allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct and concluded that the evidence was insufficient to accuse him of a crime. The second Brazoria County jury considered evidence in a criminal complaint accusing Watson of sexual misconduct during a therapy session.
CNN’s Amy Woodyatt, Jacob Lev and Ben Morse contributed to this report.
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2023-12-30 12:57:37
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