For those, like Eric Bickel, who pegged Brian Davis’ Commanders bid as sketchy from the start…Friday may have been the day for you.
Hearings in Davis and Urban Echo Energy’s lawsuit against Bank of America began Friday, and according to multiple reports by AJ Perez of Front Office Sports and sports law analyst Daniel Wallach of The Athletic, Davis’ ask of $500 billion in damages has already been lowered to under $1 million, and Davis’ attorney, Jeffery Martin, has said there will ‘likely be a negotiated resolution’ and withdrawal of Davis’ Temporary Restraining Order for what is now simply ‘a return of his bank drafts.’
District Judge Deborah L. Boardman, who heard the case, ordered the parties to file a status report on the situation by next Friday, at which point the future of the case will be decided.
Here’s where things get interesting, though, and the devil is in the details: according to testimony in the case, revealed by Davis and Wallach, Ava E. Lias-Booker, one of Bank of America’s lawyers, told the judge that “the documents we have in our possession raise considerable concerns about their genuineness,” and claimed they looked ‘fictitious.’
Wallach is then quoted by Perez as saying that at that point, Davis’ attorney “quickly pivoted to his backup remedy: a request for the return of the bank drafts.”
The bigger issue for Davis, now, however, may be this: according to Wallach, Bank of America may have an obligation to report the situation to federal regulators for potential bank fraud, saying in a Tweet that “dismissal of the lawsuit should be the least of their worries. Of greater concern should be criminal charges, court sanctions, and potential bar disciplinary proceedings.”
Even worse: Perez Tweeted that a search of Virginia Bar records indicate that Jeffery Martin does not have malpractice insurance, which is not required in Virginia, although the state does require attorneys to disclose a lack of coverage to clients – meaning Davis would know Martin is not insured, and thus could then go after Martin for damages depending on the result of this case.
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Given the holiday weekend, it is likely nothing will be decided until at least Tuesday, giving the parties three business days to come to a resolution before re-convening with Boardman next Friday.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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