Judge Postpones Decision in Ja Morant Lawsuit Until Next Year

Ja Morant is going to have to wait a little longer to find out if he can claim immunity from being sued by teenage basketball player Joshua Holloway.

After three days of testimony and arguments, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney has decided she will not give her ruling until 2024 because she needs more time to make her decision.

Chumney explained that there is a lot of testimony and evidence to go over before she can make a decision that she feels comfortable making. She added that the lack of precedent makes it "much more important to do substantial work" before making her decision.

"Everybody was hoping for a big decision, or finality, or something like that. These are important legal issues, and I just want to say this to everybody in the courtroom," Chumney said.

"This is a statute and this is a law that does not have a lot of what you call precedent in Tennessee, in terms of prior decisions where appellate courts have weighed in and said, 'In this case, you do this. And in this case, you do that.' Because of that, even though there are some decisions from around the county, a lot of the briefing takes more time with the attorneys."

According to Commerical Appeal, Chumney's ruling will decide whether the burden will be swapped from Morant's team to Holloway and his legal team. If that happens, Holloway will have to prove that Morant didn't act in self-defense as he claims.

A timeline has not been provided for when a ruling could come, but Chumney is allowing attorneys 30 days to make findings of fact and conclusions of law arguments. It appears that it's possible a ruling comes around the end of January or beginning of February.

The lawsuit was filed by Joshua Holloway, now 18, when he was 17-years-old, accusing the Memphis Grizzlies star of assaulting him at a pickup game at Morant's parent's house in July 2022.

Holloway was invited to play at the private court with Morant and had been invited to the house several times prior to this incident. He had a friendly relationship with the Morant family. The NBA star testified that Holloway showed his family respect and behaved well in the past.

Morant testified that he punched Holloway in self-defense after the teen threw a basketball at his face during a check-ball situation.

According to ESPN, Holloway's attorney, Rebecca Adelman asked Morant during cross-examination, "You testified that this basketball was a weapon, yes?" to which Morant responded, "Yes."

Morant testified that during the altercation, he asked Holloway, "What you on?" Holloway didn't reply, but instead, pulled up his shorts, which Morant took as a "fighting stance." Morant said Holloway then took a step toward him, so he stepped forward and punched Holloway.

"I hit him first - to protect myself," Morant explained. He later testified that he heard Holloway yell, "I'm going to light this place up like a fireworks show," as he was leaving the property, leaving Morant to think he was referring to "guns."

Christmas came early for Grizzlies fans this week when Morant was eligible to begin playing with his team once again after his 25-game suspension.

Morant's first game back was Tuesday night where he shot the buzzer beating winning shot to lead his team to victory against the New Orleans Pelicans.

It was a long journey for the Grizzlies star who spend much of 2023 suspended for gun-related incidents. Before returning to the court, Morant spoke to reporters at a press conference about his time on suspension.

"It’s been a process. Obviously thankful for, you know, the support I had during this time. Obviously, it’s not easy, you know, not being out there on the floor and having to watch, but you know with everything else, being around the team, being able to practice, being able to travel, the guys just constantly talking to me and vice versa, it’s been good,” he told reporters during his first public presser since his suspension began.

"I’ve pretty much just been focusing on me, honestly, outside of the basketball stuff. But basketball-wise, just becoming more of a leader with my talk.”

He also explained that he had some "tough" days, but the support he has received has helped him through the process.

“It was definitely tough, some horrible days. It was tough, but like I said to start this, with the support that I had throughout this process, it definitely helped me a lot. It’s pretty much all I could lean on at that time,” he said.

"Obviously, basketball is something I’ve been doing pretty much my whole life. Something that’s therapeutic for me. Obviously taking that away, it makes it tougher. But, like I said, I had the right people around me, from my family to the organization and to my other partners that helped me along in the process.”

Morant said he learned a lot during his suspension, doesn't have regrets, and is grateful for the "opportunity to reflect."