Usher continues to face issues in his herpes lawsuit from accuser Quantasia Sharpton.
In a new filing obtained by Bossip Tuesday, Sept. 11, Sharpton claims the “No Limit” singer is using tactics to delay her case accusing him of exposing her to herpes. In her attorney’s words, the singer is engaging in “dilatory tactics and failure to cooperate in scheduling a mediation.”
Singer-songwriter Usher attends Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Hosts Annual Ripple Of Hope Awards Dinner at New York Hilton on December 13, 2017 in New York. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
Attorney Jivaka Candappa said there have been several proposed deadlines to reconcile the situation, but those meetings have failed to materialize thanks to Usher’s team avoiding them. Candappa said Usher’s legal team would take up to a week to respond to emails when they did at all. Documents also accuse Usher’s attorney of scheduling a court appearance without looping Candappa in beforehand and declining several potential arbitrators in the process.
The last mediation date offered was Oct. 31 — 17 days after Usher’s 40th birthday. Candappa says Usher’s people claim that proposed meeting was thwarted when they said they needed to procure the “necessary people” for their client. They ultimately failed to get the date since, according to Candappa, Usher’s team waited too long to confirm.
Candappa also noted that he’s put his nose to the grindstone to cement mediation dates but points at the singer’s attorneys for dragging their feet.
Sharpton’s initial lawsuit, which was filed over a year ago, claims that she and Usher had unprotected sex following a performance in Atlantic City. Should the accuser and the performer manage to reach mediation but are unable to agree on a settlement, the case would go to trial in early 2019.
For his part, Usher has denied allegations of infecting Sharpton and his two other accusers with the sexually transmitted virus.
His attorneys Laura Wassar and Zia Modabber said in court docs obtained by People magazine last year that their client “denies each and every allegation” his accusers have made.
