MILTON, DE - Jimmie Allen, who faces two sexual abuse lawsuits, is being accused of stalling the proceedings as his lawyers ask the court to remove them as his legal counsel.
According to a motion filed on December 21st, 2023 in US District Court, Allen’s legal counsel, Movants Jonathan Cole, Katelyn R. Dwyer, and the law firm of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell and Berkowitz, P.C. (collectively called “Movants” in the documents) asked the Court for an order withdrawing him as Allen’s representation.
Allen, the lawyers claim, notified Allen of their intent to withdraw as his counsel citing Allen’s failure to comply with the terms of their engagement. Allen accepted their resignation on December 1, 2023.
In a response to the lawyers’ motion, counsel for one of Allen’s accusers filed a response on December 29th, 2023, asking the court to deny the motion.
The accuser’s attorney, Elizabeth A. Fegan, argued in the response that Allen had gone through three different law firms since November of 2022. Fegan says the plaintiff has yet to receive responses or objections to discovery requests served to Allen and his defense team in September 2023. According to court documents, Allen and his lawyers had until December 29 to respond.
Fegan also says that while Allen’s defense had collected some discovery information, the amount and scope of the discovery was unclear and would remain so until Allen appointed future counsel. Fegan asked the judge to deny Movants’ withdrawal motion until discovery has been completed.
“These tactics are part of Allen’s continuing pattern of conduct to forestall Plaintiff’s right to gather discovery to pursue her claims,” Fegan argued in her response to the withdrawal request.
Allen has continued to deny the sexual assault allegations against him from two separate women, one of which who worked as Allen’s day-to-day manager. In July of 2023, Allen launched a countersuit against them.