Legal Update - Alvin Kamara

Following the 2022 Pro Bowl, New Orleans Saints' elusive running back, Alvin Kamara, possibly failed to elude some trouble outside Las Vegas nightclub Drai after Dark. Kamara was arrested the night after the Pro Bowl in an alleged assault and battery of Darnell Greene Jr.

I wonder if Kamara was upset with the old structure of the Pro Bowl. Thankfully, Goodell decided to change to the Pro Bowl from a traditional AFC v. NFC game to a "week long celebration of player skills." All jokes aside, there were some worries that Kamara may miss some games with a suspension before the 2022-2023 season. However, it is already Week 10, and as much as it pains me that the NFL season is more than halfway over, it is looking more likely that Kamara will not face any penalties until the 2023-24 season. Fantasy managers, don't worry.

Let's talk about the legal proceedings. Buzbee Law Firm and Garner & Munoz filed a lawsuit on behalf of Darnell Greene, the alleged victim. The documents contained petitions for civil damages on assault and battery against Kamara. I will note, Buzbee Law Firm sounded quite familiar to me and it is because Tony Buzbee represented Deshaun Watson.

Attorneys for the two firms filed in the Civil District Court of New Orleans M-13 Division, Case No. 2022-09602, "Darnell Greene, Jr. vs. Alkin Kamara." Greene seeks both compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $10 million. Just so we're on the same page, the purpose of compensatory damages are to make the injured party "whole" and place them in the same position monetarily as if the injury never occurred. The purpose of punitive damages are to punish the at-fault party and prevent others from being hurt by similar actions.

Excess of 10 million?! Yeah, why not chase the bag when you are suing a professional athlete. However, if I learned anything from law school thus far, which is heavily debateable, legal proceedings take time. These proceedings are especially long when it involves a famous defendant, like Kamara.

A 45-day delay was granted in September, and the hearing was moved to November 9th. Oh wait, is today November 9th? Well, none of the defendants showed up to court today, so the judge continued the negotiations hearings another 60 days. Luckily, there was some clarification because the next court date is now January 23, 2023, and the trial date is set for March 1, 2023. Both parties will likely try to settle beforehand so that this proceeding will not go to trial.

Will anything happen to Kamara? Hard to say. There is a lot of media reporting that heavily victimizes Greene, but no one will have a distinct answer until the court returns its decision.

I'll keep you posted on the updates as they come.

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Thanks for stopping by,

Matt

Matthew M. Marino is a 2L at Elon University School of Law. You can connect with him via his LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-m-marino) orvia his blog (https://matthewmmarino.com).