CLEVELAND — The woman who originally filed suit against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson earlier this month has now filed a second motion in response to claims made by Watson's attorneys, according to court documents.
The initial lawsuit filed on Oct. 13 by her attorney Anissah Nguyen claimed that the woman, a licensed massage therapist, was “pressured into oral sex” during a scheduled session outside of the team's hired employee.
Since the initial filing, Watson and his representing teamfiled a motion that claimed the lawsuit on behalf of the woman was done in “bad faith.” They supported their claims with screenshots of text messages between the woman and Watson, then requested she reveals her identity.
In the second motion, Nguyen responded, stating Watson’s claims should be denied because he “has failed to meet the… evidentiary standard to support an award of sanctions against Plaintiff’s counsel” and “failed to show that Plaintiff’s Lawsuit is groundless.”
Additionally, the second motion claims Watson and his team are trying to "publicly humiliate, bully and intimidate" the woman by using "self-serving 'evidence,'" per the lawsuit.
In addition to the second motion, 10 page's worth of emails between attorney John MacVane and Nguyen reveal a plethora of miscommunications resulting in delayed responses from either party regarding the lawsuit.
Intertwined with the responses includes aggressive language between MacVane and Nguyen. Some examples include “...the messages in your email are inaccurate” and “based upon the sham lawsuit that your firm and [her client] have filed.”
The latest lawsuit came after Watson settled 23 of the 24 lawsuits originally filed against him claiming a range of sexual misconduct against him during massage therapy sessions. In August, Watson was suspended for 11 games for violating the NFL's personal Conduct Policy. Watson's suspension also requires him to undergo therapy and treatment as part of the settlement, which NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said he has so far fulfilled.
The second motion, which is a total of 24 pages, can be read here.
Since the second motion has been filed, it is now up to a judge to determine the next steps following the filings.
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