B | K Partners Tony Bisconti and John Littrell, with a crucial assist from paralegal Garrison Giali, scored a complete defense verdict last week in a personal injury trial against NBA All-Star James Harden.

The plaintiff, a self-proclaimed paparazzo, claimed that Harden “angrily smacked” him as he attempted to videotape Harden outside a nightclub in Hollywood. Plaintiff alleged that he suffered “serious physical damage” and “permanent disability,” and claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, in addition to seeking punitive damages.

Harden completely denied the plaintiff’s claims. Littrell and Bisconti dismantled the plaintiff’s story, revealing key inconsistencies and outright lies, and demonstrated that Harden could not have been the cause of his injuries. The jury agreed and came back in less than an hour with a unanimous verdict in favor of Harden.

As a perennial All-Star and former league MVP, Harden is one of the most popular and recognizable players in the NBA. Unfortunately, people with that level of success and visibility become easy targets for frivolous lawsuits by plaintiffs hoping for a quick payoff. B|K has a successful track record defending high-profile clients against these types of actions, whether by intervening early enough to avoid a lawsuit altogether, obtaining pretrial dismissal of a case, or, where necessary and as was the case here, prevailing at trial.