A federal judge has dismissed former New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley’s remaining claims against Madison Square Garden for a third time, ending a legal battle that stretched more than nine years.
On Friday, Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the Southern District of New York ruled that Oakley failed to prove he was assaulted by security guards during a February 8, 2017, incident at a Knicks game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Oakley, seated near team owner James Dolan, was involved in an altercation with security, handcuffed, and arrested. Criminal charges were later dropped. Oakley sued MSG alleging assault and battery, among other claims.
Earlier portions of the lawsuit were dismissed in 2020 and 2021, with the assault-and-battery claim twice revived on appeal. In his latest decision, Sullivan wrote that ample evidence, including videos from multiple angles and unanimous witness testimony, showed Oakley had a reasonable opportunity to leave the arena, resorted to physical violence, and was never pushed to the ground.
Sullivan added that no rational jury could conclude that Oakley reasonably feared wrongful physical contact or that MSG intended to create such fear.
“For more than nine years, Mr. Oakley’s lawyers have pursued claims they knew were false,” MSG said in a statement. “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.”
Wigdor expressed disappointment and said he hopes the Second Circuit will again remand the case for a jury trial.
“We are disappointed with the Court’s rulings,” Wigdor said in his statement to The Post. “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 ruling leaves the long-running dispute between Oakley and MSG unresolved pending any further appeal.
