Its official...
Oakley is suing the garden
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmac...de-charles-oakley-v-james-dolan/#5d99a4b34b27
Oakley Can Fight Back
Assault & Battery
Oakley has said he did nothing wrong and has no idea why he got kicked out of the game. Oakley told The NY Daily News he did not put his hands on Knicks owner Jimmy Dolan, who reportedly was sitting near Oakley.
“I was there for four minutes,” Oakley said. “I didn’t say anything to him. I swear on my mother. They came over and wanted to know why I was sitting there. I bought the ticket. I said why do you guys keep staring at me. Then they asked me to leave. And I said I’m not leaving.”
Oakley could sue civilly for assault and battery, which is the act of threatening a person with violence and then actually physically harming that person. Breaking it down, the tort of assault refers to an intentional act that is meant to cause a reasonable apprehension of imminent and harmful contact. The tort of battery is an intentional act that results in harmful contact with another person without that person's consent. A battery can sometimes be seen as a completed assault, and for that reason, they are often grouped together.
In this case, Oakley may have a tough time being successful. It does appear security guards asked him to leave, and only put their hands on him after he offered physical resistance. Still, if Oakley can show that the security guards made harmful contact without his consent, then this claim could get some traction. Also noteworthy is that Oakley was knocked down twice. This could be used by Oakley to demonstrate the use of disproportionate force.
Oakley could also allege false imprisonment, which is the unlawful restraint of a person against his will by someone without legal authority or justification. If the claim for assault and battery fail, this too will fail.
Defamation
All of the claims, a claim for defamation is perhaps the most interesting. Defamation refers to a statement that is likely to lower the reputation of a person in the eyes of reasonable people. Truth is a defence to a claim for defamation.
The Knicks wrote in a statement that Oakley "came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner…He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon."
Being hopeful that Oakley gets “some help soon” could be seen to suggest that the former Knick is an alcoholic, has anger management issues or otherwise suffers from some type of personality disorder. If none of that is true, then it would be open to Oakley to consider a claim for defamation.
The entire incident is deeply troubling and unfortunate. That being said, it seems unlikely that we will see any legal action materialize from either side unless Oakley feels he was defamed.
Oakley is suing the garden
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmac...de-charles-oakley-v-james-dolan/#5d99a4b34b27
Oakley Can Fight Back
Assault & Battery
Oakley has said he did nothing wrong and has no idea why he got kicked out of the game. Oakley told The NY Daily News he did not put his hands on Knicks owner Jimmy Dolan, who reportedly was sitting near Oakley.
“I was there for four minutes,” Oakley said. “I didn’t say anything to him. I swear on my mother. They came over and wanted to know why I was sitting there. I bought the ticket. I said why do you guys keep staring at me. Then they asked me to leave. And I said I’m not leaving.”
Oakley could sue civilly for assault and battery, which is the act of threatening a person with violence and then actually physically harming that person. Breaking it down, the tort of assault refers to an intentional act that is meant to cause a reasonable apprehension of imminent and harmful contact. The tort of battery is an intentional act that results in harmful contact with another person without that person's consent. A battery can sometimes be seen as a completed assault, and for that reason, they are often grouped together.
In this case, Oakley may have a tough time being successful. It does appear security guards asked him to leave, and only put their hands on him after he offered physical resistance. Still, if Oakley can show that the security guards made harmful contact without his consent, then this claim could get some traction. Also noteworthy is that Oakley was knocked down twice. This could be used by Oakley to demonstrate the use of disproportionate force.
Oakley could also allege false imprisonment, which is the unlawful restraint of a person against his will by someone without legal authority or justification. If the claim for assault and battery fail, this too will fail.
Defamation
All of the claims, a claim for defamation is perhaps the most interesting. Defamation refers to a statement that is likely to lower the reputation of a person in the eyes of reasonable people. Truth is a defence to a claim for defamation.
The Knicks wrote in a statement that Oakley "came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner…He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon."
Being hopeful that Oakley gets “some help soon” could be seen to suggest that the former Knick is an alcoholic, has anger management issues or otherwise suffers from some type of personality disorder. If none of that is true, then it would be open to Oakley to consider a claim for defamation.
The entire incident is deeply troubling and unfortunate. That being said, it seems unlikely that we will see any legal action materialize from either side unless Oakley feels he was defamed.
