HOUSTON – Twenty women who have filed lawsuits alleging inappropriate behavior and sexual assault against quarterback Deshaun Watson of Houston Texans have modified their petitions to disclose their names.
Another lawsuit is expected to be re-filed on Thursday after an emergency hearing was canceled on Wednesday.
One of the 22 original lawsuits was withdrawn by a plaintiff “for now,” according to court documents.
“In light of privacy and security concerns, the plaintiff has decided not to pursue her case, for now,” the document said. “The plaintiff reserves the right to dismiss this case once these concerns are addressed.”
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 demands were to be modified had been scheduled for Wednesday, but was called off shortly before it began.
Plaintiffs’ attorney, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement Tuesday that his law firm “previously tried to make available to the defense attorney the names of the plaintiffs suing Deshaun Watson, and that he intended to do it in due course “.
“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.”