The downfall of R. Kelly continues to unfold in real time, with the disgraced singer having suffered a recent loss in court over a sexual abuse lawsuit. The thing is, Kelly was handed the loss by default as he failed to show up to court. At the time, Kelly's team appeared unfazed by the whole ordeal, with his publicist offering a flippant take: "We don't care about the lawsuit. The lawsuit means nothing to us." Yet today, Kelly's team has offered up an explanation of sorts, as detailed by TMZ.
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Despite the publicist's defiant stance, Kelly's lawyer is proceeding to engage in a bit of damage control regarding the recent loss. Apparently, his team is claiming that Kelly was so "overwhelmed" by his current incarceration that he was simply unable to understand the legal papers he had been served. The papers originally arrived courtesy of Heather Williams, who previously sued the singer for sexual abuse in February. Though Kelly's attorney Jeffrey Deutschman attempted settle out of court, Williams moved forward with the lawsuit.
She attempted to serve Kelly papers while he was holed up at Trump Towers, only to be rebuffed by security. Through means unknown, she managed to serve him with papers during his incarceration, which occurred when he failed to pay his child support. Given that everything was in the process of collapsing around him, Kelly is claiming that he was simply so overwhelmed by his experiences that he couldn't move forward in a coherent and rational fashion. His Civil attorney elaborated, stating "[Being overwhelmed] coupled with Mr. Kelly not being cognizant of what the motion fully meant led to him missing the hearing. I had no idea he had been served." There's a hearing set for next month to determine damages."
Now, Kelly's team is looking to overturn his most recent loss, and once again take the battle to court. Expect more on this story as it develops.
[via]