HOUSTON – Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said Tuesday night in a statement that his law firm would amend the 22 lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson for disclosing the names of the plaintiffs, “even those who currently do not they are subject to no court order. “
The lawsuits, originally filed on behalf of Jane Does from March 16 to April 2, allege inappropriate behavior and sexual assault against the Houston Texans quarterback.
On Friday, two judges ruled that most of the plaintiffs suing Watson had to identify themselves. The resolutions of two hearings on Friday covered 13 of the 22 lawsuits filed against Watson, while lawyers also agreed to release a 14th name later. By Friday, only two women had been publicly identified.
Another emergency hearing to determine whether the remaining lawsuits should be amended had been scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT in District 113 Court. This hearing was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, before Buzbee send your statement saying that the law firm would amend all petitions.
As of Tuesday evening, 11 lawsuits were amended and were available on the Harris County District Secretary’s website.
In his statement, Buzbee said his law firm “previously tried to make available to defense attorneys the names of the plaintiffs suing Deshaun Watson and intended to do so at the time.”
“We were concerned about the safety of these plaintiffs and asked Watson’s team to accept a protection order in which identities could be used in litigation, but not disseminated to the world,” Buzbee’s statement continued.
In a statement last week, Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said that when his law firm asked Buzbee “to identify his clients weeks ago, he refused and told us to file a motion.” “.
“While I understand that anonymity is often used as a shield for victims, Buzbee uses it as a sword,” Hardin said in a statement Thursday. “While protecting his clients from public scrutiny, Mr. Buzbee continues to use his anonymous allegations to destroy Mr. Watson. That is simply not right. And we hope to resolve these issues in court.”
Hardin acknowledged during a press conference Friday that there were some “consensual meetings” between Watson and some of the 22 women who have filed lawsuits against him, but said at no point did Watson participate in acts that were not “desired.” each other “. “
“Sometimes there were consensual meetings? Yes,” Hardin said.
When asked to clarify his comments about Watson’s involvement in sexual acts with some of the women who sued him, Hardin responded, “In some of these massages there will be no doubt. We have never had any. fled “.
In his statement Tuesday, Buzbee said that while Watson “can now claim that he had consent to do what he did” to these women, “in his minds he did not have consent.”