R. Kelly’s lawyer is arguing that he lost his lawsuit after missing a hearing because the singer was “overwhelmed.”
Heather Williams sued Kelly in February, a day before Kelly was charged with 10 charges of sexual abuse, according to a report published Friday by BBC. His civil lawyer Brian Nix claimed that he was “overwhelmed” when served papers in jail and had no clue what he was reading.
R. Kelly Loses Sexual Abuse Case by Default After Failing to Show Up to Court https://t.co/KBFklxiVM0
— People (@people) April 25, 2019
“R. Kelly was served while incarcerated on the child support case and he was overwhelmed by the experience of being in jail,” Nix told TMZ. “[Being overwhelmed] coupled with Mr. Kelly not being cognizant of what the motion fully meant led to him missing the hearing. I had no idea he had been served.” (RELATED: R. Kelly made $22K For First Appearance Following Sexual Abuse Allegations)
Williams accused Kelly of sexually abusing her when she was 16 in the lawsuit. Her attorney, Jeffrey Deutschman, attempted to settle the matter outside of court, but claims he never got a response from Kelly or his team.
R. Kelly’s attorney response to default judgement: pic.twitter.com/QdigoWKyps
— kellznation ???? (@kellznation) April 26, 2019
Williams allegedly tried to serve Kelly the papers while he was at Trump Tower, but couldn’t get through security to deliver him the papers.
Kelly missed the hearing and Williams won the lawsuit by default. The judge has yet to determine how much Kelly will pay Williams in damages.