Warren Sapp Served With Lawsuit By Man Pretending To Be An Autograph Seeker [Video]
A process server who was pretending to be a fan seeking an autograph from and a picture with Warren Sapp handed the ex-NFL star a personal injury lawsuit, an exchange that was documented on video.
For about a year, the plaintiff’s lawyer had tried to serve Florida resident Sapp with the legal papers at least 50 times with no success, the Miami Herald reported. In this instance, the legal complaint requires what’s called personal service, which means a sheriff, constable, or a private process server must hand the paperwork to the defendant physically. This is distinguished from “abode service” in which the paperwork need only be left inside the defendant’s front door or the equivalent, whether he or she is home at the time or not.
The Florida attorney learned that Warren Sapp would be appearing at a memorabilia festival called Raiderfest VII near Los Angeles and apparently hired two process servers, who paid $80 just like the other fans to get in, to pose with Sapp and Sapps’ Super Bowl ring. Ex-athletes in all of the major sports have developed a nice cottage industry in signing autographs at these kinds of nostalgia shows.
The case in question was brought by actress Paula Trickey who claims that the former defensive tackle knocked her down at an ESPN 2015 Super Bowl party at a nightclub in Arizona. Sapp claims he wasn’t even in the room and was attending another event at the time. Attorney John Phillips asserts that Sapp “was drunk and belligerent” when he knocked his client to the floor, the Herald added. Trickey alleges that she was severely injured in the encounter.
“That same week Sapp was fired from NFL Network after being arrested during an argument with a prostitute at his hotel,” the Herald recalled.
“You’re being served as well,” the process server tells Warren Sapp after they pose for a picture (see video embedded below). Sapp calmly says “thank you,” and puts the complaint in his back pocket.
“Credit to Sapp for still being polite to the guy even after he realized what was going on — we’ve seen some people flip out,” TMZ noted.
Warren Sapp Blindsided w/ Battery Lawsuit, 'You Got Served!' https://t.co/5R8y9WTtUO
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 14, 2018
An All-American at the University of Miami, Warren Sapp won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for whom he played from 1995 to 2003. The seven-time Pro Bowler was a member of the Oakland Raiders from 2004 to 2007. He was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. In April 2012, Warren Sapp filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Lauderdale, AP reported at the time. Warren Sapp, 45, worked as an analyst for the NFL Network from 2008 to 2015.
Was the ex-NFL star a sap in allowing himself to be served at an autograph signing? Watch the video below and draw your own conclusions.
