Florida coach Billy Napier and two co-defendants ask court to dismiss Jaden Rashada lawsuit

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Billy Napier and two co-defendants on Tuesday filed motions to dismiss quarterback Jaden Rashada’s lawsuit regarding a failed name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million. “Nowhere does the complaint adequately allege, for example, that Napier knew about whatever occurred between Rashada, his ‘NIL agents’ and the Gator Collective, LLC. “In fact, the complaint makes clear that Napier could not have defrauded Rashada, since the sole statement attributed to Napier is alleged to have been made after Rashada had already abandoned the Miami NIL deal.” Hathcock’s attorney, Jason Peterson of Clark Partington in Pensacola, wrote in a 36-page response that the lawsuit contains “extensive legal conclusions and speculation” and lacks “the allegations of fact necessary for his claims against Hathcock.” “Some variation of the word ‘promise’ appears at least 50 times in the complaint, yet there is no breach-of-contract count,” Peterson wrote. Attorney Hal Lewis, based in Tallahassee, also accused Rashada’s lawsuit of “attributing meanings to statements and actions that are the exact opposite of what they appear to be on their face.” “Even a thorough re-reading of the complaint after knowing how the story ends would fail to uncover even a single bread crumb of evidence that even remotely supported the ending,” Lewis wrote.