Alleged victim seeks $875,000 from Tennessee’s Josh Smith

[jbcarol]

Smith's roommate will seek a $3 million civil suit if he does not receive the $875,000 by Tuesday.

Smith was arrested on the morning of May 6 and was charged with domestic violence after he and Kennedy Foster had gotten into a fight on the night of May 5. Per Hyams, Foster suffered a broken nose, broken teeth as well as damage to his right ear and one of his eyes.

"as a result of your conduct outlined above, it is my legal opinion that a reasonable and fair minded jury would find that you are liable for the serious bodily injury to Mr. Foster under numerous civil laws'' including assault, battery, trespassing, spoliation of evidence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

    "Because your conduct was intentional, knowing, malicious or reckless, you are also subject to punitive damages under Tennessee law in addition to compensatory damages for Mr. Foster's pain, suffering, disfigurement, permanent injury, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, economic loss for medical bills ... loss of wages and other damages.

    "The purpose of this letter is to communicate the settlement demand of Mr. Foster to privately settle this case now without filing the public lawsuit against you. ...''

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/wesrucker247/status/868887551687487488

According to an incident report filed by local police, Smith, Foster and Malcolm Smith (who also lives in the house) were drinking alcohol at home the night of May 5 when Foster said he wasn't feeling well and went to the bathroom located in his bedroom. According to the report, Foster didn't respond when Smith went to check on him, and that led to an altercation between all three roommates.

Smith allegedly kicked Foster in the face multiple times during the altercation, and Smith's parents arrived at the house a while later to take Foster to the hospital, according to the report. The report stated that Smith went with his family and Foster to UT Medical Center, where he ultimately was arrested.

Keith Stewart, the Smith family attorney, told WNML that Smith disputes several of Foster's allegations.

"I'm not accusing him (Foster) of extortion, but that's what it looks like,'' Stewart said. "Given my understanding that Mr. Foster's attempts to press charges against Malcolm Stokes were unsuccessful, it seems his motives are clear.'

"I think when the truth comes out,'' Stewart said, "Josh will be exonerated.''

Foster and his attorney have a different story.

The Foster family attorney — George Underwood — has claimed that Foster suffered a fractured nose, broken teeth and damage to his eyes and his right ear during the altercation.

Foster worked for Smith's father at the time of the incident and had been working there for a year, according to a WNML report that claims Foster's family went to Smith's father's house the day after the incident and requested a "job for life."

Smith's father told the Foster family that their son should take a "leave of absence" from the company until the incident is settled, according to the WNML report report, which also claims that both Foster and Smith took the blame for the incident while at the hospital.

A program source confirmed to GoVols247 that Smith has appeared before the UT Student Code of Conduct board to discuss the incident, but that a verdict hasn't been reached to this point. It's not clear whether Smith will be punished by Tennessee football coach Butch Jones...