Judge dismisses Katt Williams lawsuit over 2016 Midtown Atlanta brawl

article

Katt Williams attends the 2024 GQ Men of the Year Party at Bar Marmont on November 14, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

ATLANTA - A federal judge has thrown out a civil lawsuit accusing comedian Katt Williams of attacking four women outside a Midtown Atlanta lounge in 2016, ruling their claims were filed too late to proceed and that service was not completed with the required diligence.

What we know:

U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II granted Williams’ motion for summary judgment on Nov. 7, dismissing all claims and directing the clerk to close the case. The court found the women failed to serve Williams within Georgia’s statute of limitations and did not act diligently enough to make late service relate back to their timely filings.

The ruling caps a yearslong dispute stemming from a Feb. 28, 2016 encounter on West Peachtree Street. The women, identified in filings as Selena Boston, Jalisa Rhodes, Lutisha Martinez and Lanette Washington, first sued in January 2022, but that case was dismissed without prejudice in November 2022 for failure to perfect service. They refiled on Feb. 17, 2023, as a renewal action.

Judge Ray detailed a string of missed opportunities and delays. After the February 2023 refiling, the plaintiffs tried to serve Williams once at a Feb. 18, 2023 show in Greenville, South Carolina, then made no attempts for months. The court denied their July 2023 request for service by publication but invited them to seek U.S. Marshals Service assistance, including an order requiring private security to yield. They waited until Oct. 24, 2023 to ask for marshal service. The court granted that request on Nov. 27, 2023, authorizing service at Williams’ Braselton address or anywhere else he could be found.

Two days before the limitations period expired, the plaintiffs asked the Marshals to serve Williams at a Dec. 29, 2023 concert in Ontario, California. Service occurred that night, twenty-two days after the Dec. 7, 2023 deadline. Other named defendants were never served. The judge held that one early attempt, long lapses, and a post-deadline service date failed the required diligence standard under Georgia law, so late service did not relate back and the claims were time-barred.

Applying Georgia’s two-year statute for personal injury claims and related service rules, the court emphasized that timely filing alone is not enough. When service occurs after the deadline and beyond the five-day grace period, plaintiffs must show continuous, specific efforts without unexplained gaps. The court compared the record unfavorably to Mote v. State Farm, where even shorter delays showed insufficient diligence.

What we don't know:

What remains unclear is whether the four women plan to appeal Judge William Ray’s summary judgment order, if comedian Katt Williams will pursue reimbursement for legal costs, or whether any of the unserved defendants named in the case could face new claims in state court. It’s also unknown if the ruling will affect any prior or related criminal proceedings tied to the 2016 incident outside the Midtown Atlanta lounge.