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Coach Kennedy’s wife adds a claim to her husband’s defamation suit

January 17th, 2009 @ 10:55 am - by NMC · 22 Comments

I think I showed great self-restraint by not making a joke in the subject header, and am showing it again by not making one in this first sentence.  In any event, somehow Coach Kennedy’s lawyer views it as inappropriate to view this new claim as, um, risible.

The attorney representing Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy says one-track mind interpretation of his wife’s addendum to his civil lawsuit is “irresponsible.”

On Dec. 22 Kimber Kennedy joined Andy Kennedy in an amendment to his defamation of character suit against two Cincinnati men. Kimber Kennedy claims loss of consortium.

The amendment came to light Thursday evening when reported by Cincinnati television station WLWT.

The station’s website account mentioned “sex” in the second paragraph, and the amendment quickly became a punch line for talk radio in the Cincinnati area through the day.

I really wouldn’t have gone with the loss of consortium claim.  There are further updates about the civil and criminal cases, here.

I’m trying to be responsible.

Tags:
Filed Under: Herald & Examiner

22 Responses so far ↓

  1. lotus says:

    Gawd.

  2. Ben Cole says:

    Trouble brewing. Domestic trouble.

  3. imstillnotbowie says:

    Sure would like this one to go to trial. But, alas, it surely will settle and thus we’ll all lose a bit of consortium via courtus interruptus.

  4. lotus says:

    Well hello, isnb! Been wondering where you were keepin’. Welcome back.

  5. Rodney says:

    The witness’ lawyer made me laugh:

    ‘”He’s accused by Mrs. Kennedy of a loss of consortium so we don’t know what this is all about,” Taliaferro said. “I’ve been practicing for 46 years, and I’ve never heard of such a thing — a witness who was acting essentially as a good Samaritan who stepped forward to tell police what he believes he saw, and then he is sued for $25,000 or more.”
    Taliaferro said he plans to depose Andy and Kimber Kennedy in the next 30 days…’
    … I bet he’s looking forward to that.
    From http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/17/cab-driver-valet-seek-damages-against-kennedy/

  6. rogerwilco says:

    Remarkable restraint there, NMC.

  7. MsPolitical says:

    Holy cow! Am I understanding this right? I’m not a lawyer, so help me out here. Am I right in reading this to mean that after his wife saw and heard what kind of person he was, she didn’t wanna “be” with him?

    Oh, my, it’s so hard to play nice with this one!

  8. Nomiss says:

    Or maybe she decided she didn’t want to be “with” him.

  9. lotus says:

    We need Dr X in on this consult.

  10. lotus says:

    “He’s doing fine,” Kennedy’s criminal lawyer tells the CA.

    But his wife sues for LoC?

    Awright, boys, which is it?

  11. Kycol says:

    Perhaps her angst comes from a fear that Coach will attempt to jump from a moving bed while calling her names and refusing to give her money.

  12. Observer says:

    Two comments.

    First, I have to ask this question: is $25K all that Kennedy is worth in the conjugal bliss department? Seriously, though, I don’t understand why the damages requested are so low. If you’re gonna sue, sue for at least $100K. Are they trying to keep the case in a county or small claims court?

    Next, Michael Strother was the purported “neutral” and objective witness upon whom the police relied when they arrested Kennedy. According to the Ole Miss assistant coaches, the police waived them off and wouldn’t take statements from them.

    Strother, who is now a co-defendant, is referred to by his attorney as a Good Samaritan in the incident. I find Strother’s neutrality and objectivity highly questionable.

    Strother was the parking valet. Parking valet’s work hand-in-glove with the cab companies. Having Strother vouch for Jiddou (the cab driver) is like having Jeremiah Wright vouch for Obama, or Chaney vouch for W.

  13. lotus says:

    I was tracking right with ya until the last sentence, Observer. But Wright acts like he pretty much hates Obama by now, and Cheney’s view of W has always been an open question. So maybe the valet and the cabbie are actually on better terms than either of those pairs.

  14. gearhart says:

    observer at 12 … i suspect 25k is the minimum amount required to sue in that court. so the lawyer probably said damages of at least 25k …. however, this is pure speculation on my part.

    as to your other comment: he was much more than a samaritan when he went on tv and “reported” what he saw. same thing as the cabbie. if these guys had stayed off the tv, kennedy would have a hard time suing either one of them.

  15. Rodney says:

    Two more comments.
    Firstly,Mr. Kennedy’s civil case lawyer, Richard Katz, seems to be primarily a sports agency proprietor. Personally, I would feel more comfortable in Mr. Kennedy’s shoes if my lawyer didn’t come out with stuff like this:
    “We didn’t just dream this up.”
    “Without our input at all, what are they saying? As far as I’m concerned, 2 and 2 equals 15.”
    “(Kennedy)…had a few drinks, there’s no question. But he was not intoxicated whatsoever.”
    “Andy has taken too many arrows. It doesn’t make sense.”

    Secondly, the witness, Mr. Strother, received the backing of his boss, Jeff Ruby of the eponymous Steakhouse, who said,
    “Only one person has an incentive for not telling the truth, and it’s not the driver or the valet.”
    Mr. Ruby has another claim to fame (and integrity), having chucked OJ Simpson out of his Louisville branch, saying he did it for the Goldman and Brown families.
    My feeling is that Mr. Kennedy, unlike Mrs. Kennedy, is screwed.

    Refs, respectively:
    http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=284763&pub=1&div=Sports
    http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=498399
    http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081223/NEWS0107/312230029/0/NEWS01
    http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Jeff-Ruby-Denies-OJ-Simpson-Service/FGknJeRdXUmh0txZfv9XgA.cspx

  16. Dr X says:

    Ah, so you do show restraint, in spite of your anonymity.

  17. NMC says:

    I used to be anonymous, but no more.

  18. lotus says:

    Check our About page, Dr X — we’s out.

  19. Dr X says:

    Aha. Anonymity is out, restraint is in.

  20. lotus says:

    Now for a real treat, Google “Freeland and Freeland.”

  21. Ben Cole says:

    I fear the Andy Kennedy era at Ole Miss is not going to end on a high note. Or on a distant one. What. A. Mess.

  22. What it all ends up meaning is that Andy Kennedy will end up sticking around in Oxford longer. The fear has been that he will end up moving on to a bigger basketball program, but if that does happen, this event will delay it by at least a couple years.