Subpoena issued for Ja Morant to testify in civil lawsuit

Subpoenas have been issued for Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and his family members to appear and testify at an upcoming court hearing for a civil trial in Memphis, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.

The lawsuit is more than a year old and accuses Morant of assaulting a teenager during a basketball game at Morant’s home outside Memphis in July 2022.

An immunity hearing is scheduled to begin Dec. 11 in Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis, where Morant’s attorneys seeking to dismiss the case will argue he was acting in self-defense for hitting Joshua Holloway, then aged 17, after Holloway hit Morant. to the chin with a basketball. The hearing is expected to last until December 13 and potentially the following week. A trial could begin in April 2024.

Morant has not yet testified in this case. He would be examined under oath by his own attorney and cross-examined by Holloway’s attorney, Rebecca Adelman.

“On behalf of Joshua, we are preparing and will be ready for the hearing,” Adelman told ESPN.

The Grizzlies declined to comment. Morant’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Morant’s testimony would come about a week before Morant is eligible to return to action for the Grizzlies on Dec. 19 after serving his 25-game suspension by the NBA following the release of a video in May showing Morant brandishing a handgun. The suspension follows an eight-game suspension last season when Morant was shown on video carrying a handgun at a Denver-area strip club in March.

Subpoenas were also issued for Morant’s close friend Davonte Pack; father, T-shirt; and his mother, Jamie, to appear and testify at the hearing, along with other friends and witnesses who were present during the July 2022 altercation at Morant’s home.

Subpoenas were also issued for four members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office who investigated the altercation.

Some of the subpoenas were issued to members of Morant’s inner circle who have already been deposed in the case, including Tee Morant. (The subpoenas have not yet been served but should be within a few days.)

Morant himself was expected to be impeached and answer questions about the case under oath before a judge ordered a stay in the case this summer after Morant’s lawyers sought to dismiss the case by trying to enforce a Tennessee state law “stand your ground.”

Entering Friday’s game against the Mavericks in Dallas, the Grizzlies are 4-13.