The sexual assault and battery civil lawsuit filed against former NBA MVP candidate Dwight Howard has been dismissed, according to ESPN.
Stephen Harper filed the lawsuit in July 2023 before dismissing the case with prejudice Monday in Gwinnett County Court (Ga.), meaning he cannot again sue Howard on those allegations, per the report.
Justin Bailey, one of Howard’s lawyers, told the outlet they did not pay Harper to drop the lawsuit.
Harper’s blockbuster civil lawsuit alleged Howard committed sexual assault and battery during a July 2021 meeting at Howard’s Georgia residence.
Howard denied injuring Harper, along with saying he did not cause any “intentional infliction of emotional distress” or “false imprisonment,” during what he described in the court documents as a “consensual sexual activity.” He asked the courts to dismiss the allegations.
Harper met with the Gwinnett County Police Department in July 2022 but did not file any charges, per ESPN.
“What was a private consensual encounter was made public for profit and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in a court of law,” Bailey told ESPN last October. “The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth….
“Despite being an easy target due to the subject matter and his status as a celebrity, Mr. Howard chose to trust in the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves.”
Howard’s camp further alleged that Harper had excluded important text messages in his filing and altered others in a filing this past December, but a judge denied that request in February, per ESPN.
“In short, the totality of the text messages between Mr. Howard and Mr. Harper make it abundantly clear that Mr. Harper’s claims are frivolous, that he was a willing participant in the events of July 19, 2021 and the early morning hours of July 20, 2021, and that the touching of his person had been invited by him,” Howard’s attorneys wrote, according to the outlet.
They added: “This is nothing more than a classic case of unrequited love. After one consensual evening together, Mr. Howard was no longer interested in keeping Mr. Harper’s company.”
Harper’s camp later countered in January that the lawsuit had “nothing to do with unrequited love” and implored the judge to not let Howard “to escape the consequences of his actions.”
Howard played in the NBA for 18 seasons from 2004-22, finishing his career with the Lakers.
He won three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Awards from 2009-11 and made eight straight All-Star teams from 2007-14.
Howard finished in the top seven in MVP voting while earning All-NBA First Team honors from the 2008-12 seasons while he starred for the Magic.
He announced on Instagram in May he had joined the Taiwan Mustangs as a player/owner.
