DaBaby has scored a minor victory in his battery lawsuit, with the trial being delayed at the last-minute.
While he recently pleaded guilty to attacking Gary Pagar in the related criminal case, the North Carolina rapper (real name Jonathan Kirk) is still being sued over the alleged incident which occured almost four years ago.
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According to Rolling Stone, DaBaby’s motion to delay the trial was granted by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cherol J. Nellon after he hired a new lawyer, with the attorney saying he needed time to get up to speed.
However, Nellon warned the rapper and his lawyer that the postponement will be short-lived as she is keen for the years-old case to be resolved at trial.
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In his February 2021 lawsuit, Pagar claimed that DaBaby beat, punched, spat on, threatened, shoved, and robbed him while filming a music video without permission at a rental property he owned in L.A. in December 2020.
DaBaby and Pagar’s lawyers are also arguing over what evidence should be allowed to be included at trial.
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DaBaby wants jurors to watch a video of Pagar, who is white, using the N-word during the violent confrontation, but Pagar’s attorneys have claimed it is not relevant to the trial, even though Pagar admitted to using the racial slur in a recent filing.
Pagar’s lawyers said: “After defendant Jonathan Kirk punched Plaintiff Gary Pagar in the face without warning, knocking out his tooth and leaving him lying on the ground bleeding profusely; and after Mr. Kirk’s associates had pushed, taunted, threatened, and spat on Mr. Pagar, stolen his phone, and vandalized his house — after these events, Mr. Pagar uttered the ‘N-word.’
“The sequence of events is undisputed: it is on video. Any reference to or evidence of that utterance should be excluded from trial because it is irrelevant to any claim or defense and will cause undue and unfair prejudice to Mr. Pagar.”
In turn, DaBaby’s lawyers argued: “Plaintiff admits that there is no factual dispute as to whether he yelled the ‘N-word’ to Kirk yet conveniently seeks to argue that such a racial slur is irrelevant to the claim of battery.
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“A jury may find that the alleged battery was the consequence of a sudden heat resulting from plaintiff’s provocation, thus barring any potential award of punitive damages.”
DaBaby previously posted a video of Pagar saying the racial slur during their violent confrontation.
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He uploaded the clip to social media and wrote: “These are the type of people y’all validate & let assassinate DaBaby’s character.”
He also accused Pagar of spitting at him but no video footage was released of that alleged offense.
