Settlement offer pulled in Tahoe Roethlisberger case
Share with others:
The attorney for a woman who filed a civil lawsuit claiming Ben Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her in a Nevada resort hotel in 2008 said Wednesday that a previous offer to settle the case is no longer on the table.
"The deadline for that has passed," said Calvin R.X. Dunlap, the Reno, Nev., attorney representing a 32-year-old woman who was a VIP host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe. The woman filed her case in August 2009.
In September, Mr. Dunlap offered to drop the lawsuit if Mr. Roethlisberger admitted assaulting the plaintiff, wrote a letter of apology, and made a $100,000 donation to a Reno group that aids abused women.
William D. Cornwell Sr., a representative of Mr. Roethlisberger, rejected the offer, calling it "bizarre" and "a destructive farce."
Mr. Cornwell could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The lawsuit remains in limbo while the Nevada Supreme Court considers a change-of-venue appeal by Mr. Roethlisberger's attorneys seeking to move the case from Reno, where it was filed, to Lake Tahoe, where the incident is alleged to have occurred.
Also in September, Mr. Roethlisberger's attorneys asked that his accuser be required to undergo a psychiatric examination. Mr. Dunlap responded with a filing that included a section saying that if a physical or psychiatric examination of his client is allowed, "a reciprocal examination" of Mr. Roethlisberger should be mandated. He also said in the motion that he would seek phone records, Internet communications, and names of any women who claimed improper sexual conduct by the quarterback.
In handing down his suspension Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Mr. Roethlisberger "must undergo a comprehensive behavioral evaluation by medical professionals."
Mr. Dunlap, who traveled to Milledgeville, Ga., earlier this month as part of his investigation into the case, would not comment on whether he would pursue the results of that evaluation.
"The sanctions imposed by Commissioner Goodell are the business of the NFL, however, the behavior of Mr. Roethlisberger in Tahoe, in Georgia, in Las Vegas and elsewhere will be part of the business of our lawsuit," Mr. Dunlap said Wednesday.
First Published April 22, 2010 12:00 am
