Lawyers for NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, who previously backed now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, have claimed that two process servers improperly delivered legal documents after previous failed attempts.
In a May 8 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, O'Neal's legal team said that following "an unsuccessful motion to serve" the NBA star, two servers of processes "threw" documents for a legal claim in front of his moving car. According to the file, O'Neal did not stop to pick up the papers, but instead left them on the street.
“This alleged 'service' is improper under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Georgia law,” the filing says. "The claims against Mr. O'Neal should be quashed and dismissed."
O'Neal was one of many high-profile figures who backed FTX before it filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. The NBA star appeared in a commercial saying he was "all set" for the cryptocurrency exchange. Following the collapse of the exchange and facing potential legal action, O'Neal reportedly saying he was "just a paid spokesperson" for the firm.
We couldn't keep it a secret any longer! We partner with... the one... the one...@SHAQ! (also known as Shaqtoshi) pic.twitter.com/V37UQ5wsXI
-FTX (@FTX_Official) June 1, 2022
In November, the Moskowitz law firm filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Edwin Garrison and other FTX investors against celebrities and sports figures for promoting the exchange. A similar lawsuit filed by the same firm in March specific crypto influencersincluding YouTuber Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy Crypto, who allegedly promoted FTX “crypto fraud” without disclosing the compensation.
Moskowitz reported on April 16 that O'Neal had been served with the legal complaint in front of his house after several failed attempts. The law firm did not specifically mention delivering the documents to the NBA star in his car or otherwise dumping them.
"When Mr. O'Neal, who never got out of his car, walked past strangers lurking outside his home, one of the process servers 'threw the legal documents in front of' his car," the filing said. of May 8. “When the documents hit the car, which was moving 'at high speed', the documents 'f[e]ll on the road,' and the process servers 'l[e]find the legal documents on the road where they disembarked', that is, on the public highway”.
Related: Judge considers removing Shaq and Naomi Osaka from FTX lawsuits
According to the filing, this alleged method of delivery of legal documents was “insufficient under Georgia law” and improper:
"Throwing papers at a moving car and leaving them unattended on a public road" is not a good deal, as it provides no way of knowing if the papers fell in the physical vicinity of "Mr. O'Neal."
Moskowitz has received permission from the court to serve other individuals connected to the lawsuit, including by tweet in the case of crypto YouTuber Tom Nash.
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