WNBA, Aces file separate motions to dismiss Dearica Hamby lawsuit
In the latest on Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit, both the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit against them.
On Wednesday, both the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces filed separate motions to dismiss Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Hamby initially filed the lawsuit in mid-August, alleging “repeated acts of intimidation, discrimination and retaliation” by the Aces and Becky Hammon, who was specifically mentioned. The motions filed by the league and Las Vegas, meanwhile, says that Hamby failed “to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
In Hamby’s filing, she claimed she lost marketing opportunities after being forced to move from Vegas to LA. She also alleged that the WNBA had pulled her marketing contract as a retaliation.
In the Aces’ motion, with Las Vegas represented by Gregory Gilbert, Dora Lane and Erica Medley of Holland & Hart LLP, they state a general lack of evidence or facts of Hamby’s claims.
“Hamby’s retaliation claim is insufficiently pled because Hamby offers no facts to establish the requisite ‘but for’ causation, and assertions that are merely ‘consistent’ with liability do not meet the necessary pleading standards. Hamby’s discrimination claim is similarly deficient because Hamby does not present facts demonstrating she suffered some harm with respect to an identifiable term or condition of employment.”
The WNBA’s claim focuses on three specific reasons, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal laid out.
The league’s lawyers cite three “independent reasons” they believe Hamby’s case should be dismissed, including the argument that Hamby’s claims under the Civil Rights Act for unlawful employment practices “fail in their entirety because Hamby does not plausibly allege that the WNBA ‘employed’ her.”
Days after Hamby filed the lawsuit, Hammon spoke after an Aces game and vehemently denied the allegations.
With the season in it’s final days, this lawsuit and it’s resolution will likely carry over into the offseason.
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