Charles Oakley's lawsuit against Madison Square Garden reinstated; Seeking James Dolan added as defendant

The lawsuit stems from Oakley being removed from a Knicks game by security in February 2017

New York Knicks legend Charles Oakley will have his day in court once again. A federal appeals court panel overturned a decision made in 2021 by a district judge to dismiss Oakley's lawsuit against Madison Square Garden. The lawsuit stems from a 2017 incident in which Oakley was forced to leave a Knicks game by security. The former All-Defensive big man then got into an altercation with the security team, which was recorded and went viral online.

In Oakley's lawsuit, he alleged defamation, assault, battery, and other allegations. However, when presented to Judge Richard Sullivan he ruled that the former NBA player "failed to allege a plausible legal claim." Now, though, not only has an appeals court reinstated the lawsuit, but they are also allowing Oakley to add Knicks team owner James Dolan to the complaint as a defendant, something that Judge Sullivan dismissed back in 2021. 

"In this case, the only video record of Oakley's initial encounter with the security guards does not compel the conclusions that Oakley was provided a reasonable opportunity to leave the Garden and that any force used by the guards during that initial encounter was reasonable," the panel of judges wrote. "Given material disputes about whether and when the security guards pushed Oakley, we cannot conclude as a matter of law that no reasonable jury could conclude that the defendants gave Oakley a reasonable opportunity to depart, and that they then used only reasonable force."

In the original lawsuit, Judge Sullivan ruled that Madison Square Garden "had the right to expel Oakley from the Garden and that his refusal to leave justified their use of reasonable force to remove him." However, the appeals court has decided that because the video submitted as evidence didn't capture the entire incident, more discovery of the altercation needed to be done. 

"We are obviously thrilled with the Second Circuit's decision and look forward to holding MSG and Dolan accountable for their actions," Oakley's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor told The Athletic.

In response to the reinstatement, the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. released the following statement:

"This matter should be behind all of us at this point, but because of the ongoing legal maneuverings of Charles Oakley and his lawyers, this case will apparently now have to continue. Nevertheless, we fully expect this case to be dismissed – for the third time."

With this ruling, the case will once again be reviewed in court.