A six-member jury in Jacksonville, Fl. has ruled in favor of rapper Juvenile in a lawsuit brought against him by an off-duty police officer over a mall fight.
Following a weeklong trial, the jury ruled in favor of the New Orleans-based rapper Thursday, saying he was not responsible for the knee injury suffered by Melissa Huxley-Bujeda as she tried to break up a fight at the Regency Square mall on July 23, 1999.
According to the lawsuit, Huxley-Bujeda said the rapper was responsible for starring the brawl after he and some friends were asked to leave for violating the mall’s language and dress codes. When the group began using profanity, Huxley-Bujeda was called to issue a trespass warning. A scuffle broke out and Huxley-Bujeda said she injured her knee while trying to control Juvenile.
The rap star, whose real name is Terius Gray, was arrested on charges of breach of the peace and resisting an officer with violence. The charges were later dropped. Huxley-Bujeda said she filed her lawsuit four years later because she has had four surgeries and amassed $68,635 in medical bills.
Juvenile's attorneys said Huxley-Bujeda suffered from degenerative arthritis and had hurt her knees about 35 times as a child from sports. Huxley-Bujeda’s attorney Fred Abbott argued her prior injuries were to her right knee and the basis of the lawsuit was her left knee. Abbot said he will file a motion for a new trial or an appeal.
Juvenile, meanwhile, couldn’t be happier with the outcome, saying after court: "We got them, we got them, we got them. Just the fact that it's a rap artist against the police, that never happens. Rappers never win. We never win against the police or the government."
Following a weeklong trial, the jury ruled in favor of the New Orleans-based rapper Thursday, saying he was not responsible for the knee injury suffered by Melissa Huxley-Bujeda as she tried to break up a fight at the Regency Square mall on July 23, 1999.
According to the lawsuit, Huxley-Bujeda said the rapper was responsible for starring the brawl after he and some friends were asked to leave for violating the mall’s language and dress codes. When the group began using profanity, Huxley-Bujeda was called to issue a trespass warning. A scuffle broke out and Huxley-Bujeda said she injured her knee while trying to control Juvenile.
The rap star, whose real name is Terius Gray, was arrested on charges of breach of the peace and resisting an officer with violence. The charges were later dropped. Huxley-Bujeda said she filed her lawsuit four years later because she has had four surgeries and amassed $68,635 in medical bills.
Juvenile's attorneys said Huxley-Bujeda suffered from degenerative arthritis and had hurt her knees about 35 times as a child from sports. Huxley-Bujeda’s attorney Fred Abbott argued her prior injuries were to her right knee and the basis of the lawsuit was her left knee. Abbot said he will file a motion for a new trial or an appeal.
Juvenile, meanwhile, couldn’t be happier with the outcome, saying after court: "We got them, we got them, we got them. Just the fact that it's a rap artist against the police, that never happens. Rappers never win. We never win against the police or the government."
