LeBron and Bronny James have denied “each and every allegation” made in a lawsuit that claimed they had some involvement in a 2022 car crash in the town of Littlerock in the Antelope Valley.
That lawsuit, filed last fall in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged that the father-son Lakers teammates “negligently owned, controlled, repaired, entrusted, maintained and operated an automobile as to cause it to, and it did, become involved in an accident or collision,” causing injury to the plaintiffs and damage to the vehicle they were in.
Attorneys representing LeBron and Bronny James filed their answer Thursday.
“These answering defendants deny each and every allegation contained in the complaint and further deny that plaintiffs have been damaged in the sum or sums alleged, or any other sum or sums, or at all,” the filing states.
The filing lists 14 defenses to the complaint, including the assertions that if any injuries or damages did occur, they were caused “by persons other than these answering defendants” and “by plaintiffs in failing to conduct themselves in a manner ordinarily expected of a reasonably prudent person in the conduct of their affairs and person.”
It further states that “the events, injuries, losses, and damages complained of in plaintiffs’ complaint, if any there were, were unavoidable insofar as these answering defendants are concerned and occurred without any negligence, want of care, default, or other breach of duty to plaintiffs on the part of said defendants.”
LeBron and Bronny James are asking for judgment in their favor and relief, including payment for the costs of the lawsuit.
Attorneys for both sides did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comments from The Times.
Plaintiffs Kiara McGillen and April Lopez filed their lawsuit Oct. 23, the day after LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to share an NBA court together. It stated that McGillen and Lopez were in a car on Pearblossom Highway at or near the intersection of 87th Street on Nov. 13, 2022, when the alleged incident occurred.
The filing originally stated that McGillen was the car’s driver, but it was amended to state that McGillen and Lopez were both passengers. The car belongs to Lopez, the lawsuit states.
Days after the lawsuit was filed, the Antelope Valley office of the California Highway Patrol told The Times it was unable to find a report filed on Nov. 13, 2022, regarding an accident at that location. The lawsuit does not indicate whether CHP was notified of the alleged incident.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs “sustained personal injuries which caused and will continue to cause pain, discomfort and physical disability,” and they have “employed and will employ in the future physicians, surgeons and others for examination, treatment and care.”
McGillen and Lopez are seeking unspecified damages.
