Former New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley has lawsuit against Madison Square Garden dismissed
Former New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley’s lawsuit against Madison Square Garden and owner James Dolan was dismissed for a third time Friday.
The legal drama between the former Knicks star and Dolan dates back to February 2017, when Oakley was thrown out of MSG following an altercation with arena security guards.
The case was initially tossed in early 2020, then again in 2021 and revived in early 2023 before once again being tossed this week.
After Oakley's removal from MSG, he was subsequently arrested and although the charges were eventually dropped, Oakley filed suit claiming false imprisonment and defamation, among other claims.
MSG released a statement saying they plan on pursuing legal action against Oakley's lawyer Douglas Windsor and his "unscrupulous law firm," according to the New York Post.
"For more than nine years, Mr. Oakley’s lawyers have pursued claims they knew were false," MSG said in its statement to the Post. "Those claims have now been dismissed by the Court in their entirety — for a third time. We are pursuing legal action against Douglas Wigdor, and his unscrupulous law firm, to hold them accountable for years of frivolous litigation and their blatant abuse of the judicial system."
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Oakley's legal team released a statement of its own concerning the dismissal of his lawsuit.
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"We are disappointed with the Court’s rulings. We believe there are conflicting accounts and only a jury can decide what exactly happened. We are hopeful that the Second Circuit will agree for a third time and remand the case for an immediate jury trial."
The 6'8" Oakley played for the Knicks for more than a decade, helping the team reach the NBA Finals in 1994 and earning All-Star and All-Defensive Team considerations during that same season.
His long-standing public feud with Dolan hasn't stopped Oakley from supporting the team, though, as the former Knicks enforcer attended several road playoff games en route to New York's first NBA Championship in over 50 years.