ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for LeSean McCoy have asked a judge in Georgia to throw out a lawsuit in which the former girlfriend of the Buffalo Bills running back accuses him of failing to protect her from a violent home invasion.
FILE – In this Feb. 4, 2017, file photo, LeSean McCoy of the Buffalo Bills, left, and Delicia Cordon arrive at the 6th annual NFL Honors at the Wortham Center in Houston. Lawyers for LeSean McCoy have asked a judge in Georgia to throw out a lawsuit filed by the Buffalo Bills running back’s former girlfriend that accuses him of failing to protect her from a violent home invasion. The lawsuit filed last month by Delicia Cordon alleges that McCoy failed to protect her after she was bloodied, beaten and had $133,000 worth of jewelry stolen by an intruder at a home McCoy owns in Milton, just outside Atlanta. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision for NFL/AP Images, File)
The lawsuit filed last month by Delicia Cordon alleges that McCoy failed to protect her after she was bloodied, beaten and had $133,000 worth of jewelry stolen by an intruder at a home McCoy owns in Milton, just outside Atlanta. Cordon also alleged that McCoy would “often brutally beat his dog,” and would also “aggressively, physically discipline and beat his young son.”
Lawyers for McCoy responded to the lawsuit in court filings Thursday. They said there is no basis to hold McCoy responsible for harm Cordon suffered in the home invasion. They also said the lawsuit is filled with unrelated false, salacious allegations that are meant only to embarrass McCoy and cast him in a bad light.
A lawyer for Cordon did not respond Monday to an email seeking comment on the court filings.
The lawsuit names McCoy and Tamarcus Porter, his friend and personal assistant. It says they’re liable for assault, battery and emotional distress inflicted upon her during the home invasion.
Police in Milton have not charged anyone in the July attack.
Cordon didn’t accuse McCoy of playing a role in the attack but accused him of breaching his duty to protect her because he owned the home. She also alleged McCoy “permitted a hazardous condition to exist” by having Porter install a new security system and cameras in June and denying her access to arm the system.
Early on the morning of July 10, Cordon’s lawsuit says, she was startled by loud noises coming from a bedroom which she said Porter would occasionally occupy. A man then entered the master bedroom and pulled a gun, which he used to strike Cordon in the face several times, she said. The intruder, she said, indicated he knew McCoy, and then demanded specific pieces of jewelry which McCoy had given to her for her birthday in 2016.
Cordon’s childhood friend, Elizabeth Donald, was also at the home at the time of the attack. She has also filed a lawsuit naming McCoy and Porter, saying the intruder hit her with a gun.
Lawyers for McCoy are seeking to have both lawsuits dismissed.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Cordon, lawyers for McCoy argue that Cordon is not claiming that McCoy or Porter attacked her or that they encouraged anyone to attack her or that they knew who the assailant was or facilitated the attack in any way.
The lawsuit “is devoid of any allegations that McCoy did anything wrong, or that anything he did contributed in any way whatsoever to the damages suffered by (Cordon) from the criminal actions of an unrelated third party.”
The lawsuit wrongfully portrays McCoy as an animal abuser and an abusive father, McCoy’s lawyers wrote. Those allegations are false and are completely unrelated to the claims of harm against Cordon that she alleges in her lawsuit, the motion says.
“The only reason (Cordon) included the salacious allegations is to impugn Mr. McCoy’s character — with the court and in the press,” the motion says.
McCoy had initiated eviction proceedings against Cordon in June and she had moved out by the time the two sides reached an agreement through mediation in mid-August.
The 30-year-old McCoy is in his 10th NFL season and fourth with the Bills after being acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. McCoy led the NFL in yards rushing in 2013, and helped the Bills lead the NFL in yards rushing in two of the past three seasons.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane has said no evidence has come to light to change McCoy’s status with the team.
By KATE BRUMBACK
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