HOUSTON - Today, the First Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of NBA star James Harden in a lawsuit brought by Moses Malone, Jr.
Malone sued Harden and others nearly four years ago, alleging that Harden was part of a civil conspiracy to assault and rob him.
Court records show Harden moved for summary judgment, asserting there was no evidence to support Malone’s claim. The trial court granted Harden summary judgment, and Malone nonsuited the remaining defendants.
On appeal, Malone argued that the trial court:
- Erred in granting summary judgment because Malone presented adequate evidence to establish a genuine dispute of material fact on each element of his conspiracy claim;
- Abused its discretion in sustaining Harden’s objections to hearsay statements contained in Malone’s summary judgment evidence; and
- Erred in denying his motion for continuance and motion to compel because the denial created an undue burden on Malone to establish a fact issue.
The First Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, concluding that “Malone had adequate time for discovery and there was no evidence to support an essential element of Malone’s civil conspiracy claim against Harden.”