Xavien Howard is facing a lawsuit from a woman who accused him of filming her during sexual intercourse without her consent, and the Miami Dolphins star has denied the allegations.
In a court filing on Monday, Howard’s attorney Brad Sohn argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed with prejudice. According to Grethel Aguila of the Miami Herald, Sohn said in the filing that the woman who accused Howard tried to secure a massive payout from the Dolphins cornerback before she went public.
“After Mr. Howard declined to pay an anonymous accuser presumably millions of dollars, his accuser has brought infirm and unsalvageable legal claims, which should be dismissed with prejudice,” the filing said.
The accuser, who is identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, claimed Howard videotaped her having sex with him without her consent and then distributed the footage to at least one person. She said she found out about the tapes after another woman sent them to her. According to the accuser, Howard sent the footage to the other woman to “make her mad because she didn’t want to have sex with him.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in May, says Howard is guilty of invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The woman is seeking $100,000 in damages.
Sohn argues that even if Howard did distribute a tape, Florida’s invasion-of-privacy law would not apply.
“Even accepting as true that Mr. Howard sent the text message to one unidentified woman, who claims to have shared it with another unidentified woman, Ms. Doe’s allegations do not allege sufficient publication,” Sohn wrote. “Publication to ‘one individual or a few’ cannot, as a matter of law, support an invasion of privacy claim.”
Howard has faced multiple lawsuits over the past several years. He was sued in October 2022 by a woman who claimed the Pro Bowl defensive back knowingly gave her an STD. That lawsuit was dropped earlier this year.
Howard was also sued in late 2022 by his former fiancée and mother of his three children. The second lawsuit stemmed from a domestic violence incident that led to Howard’s arrest in 2019.
The 30-year-old Howard signed a new 5-year, $90 million contract with the Dolphins prior to last season. He has made three consecutive Pro Bowls and four overall.
