LaMelo Ball’s prescription drug history and text messages are the latest focus in the civil lawsuit alleging the highest-paid Charlotte Hornets star ran over and broke a child’s foot outside the Spectrum Center.
Angell Joseph’s mother filed a lawsuit against Ball and his team, claiming the Hornets point guard ran over the 12-year-old’s foot while driving away from the stadium after an October 2023 scrimmage. The Hornets escaped the lawsuit after a judge said the organization shouldn’t be involved.
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Now, it’s Ball’s attorneys against the child’s. The Wednesday morning hearing between them came two months after Ball was involved in a crash near his uptown apartment. Last week, Ball’s manager appeared in court to fight eviction from former Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton’s old apartment.
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball sits on the bench during the final moments against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center in Orlando on April 17. The Magic defeated the Hornets 121-90.
(JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com)
Joseph’s attorney, Cameron deBrun, filed motions to compel Ball to give “a list of prescription medications” he took in the year before the alleged incident, as well as the messages and posts made in the 12 hours before and after he left the scrimmage. Both would be used to determine Ball’s condition while driving and whether he acknowledged the incident to anybody.
Ball refused to provide either, according to court documents filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court.
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Superior Court Judge Lou Trosch on Wednesday ordered that Ball give a list of any drugs he was prescribed and taking at the time, despite arguments from Ball’s attorneys that such details were protected medical information. Trosch also ordered that Ball hand over messages sent in the six hours before and 12 hours after the incident.
During Wednesday’s virtual hearing, Ball attorney Erin Young accused the boy’s attorneys of going on a “fishing expedition… in an effort to inflame issues in this case that don’t exist, to embarrass my client.”
In court, she asserted that Ball denies the incident ever happened. Previously, Ball said the child’s own negligence caused the injuries and asked that the child’s family pay Ball’s attorney fees.
In a statement for this story, Young wrote: “We were recently retained to defend Mr. Ball in this matter and are making every effort to comply with reasonable discovery requests from plaintiffs. However, we also want to make sure Mr. Ball is treated fairly in this process.”
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