Former Duke player Christian Laettner is a March basketball legend , his game-winning shot against Kentucky going down as one of the best moments in NCAA tournament history.
It could take that same kind of precision and guts for Laettner to get through his latest challenge, though, this one is in a courtroom. Laettner and former Duke teammate Brian Davis are facing a mountain of financial and legal hurdles stemming from a loan their real estate company failed to repay to former Duke captain and current Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins, .
Last year a judge ordered Laettner, Davis and their company to pay Dawkins the $671,309 they owe him. The judge will decide whether to hold the two in contempt of court for not doing paying the money.
Court documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal indicate that the Laettner and Davis, and their real estate businesses, are defendants in several civil lawsuits seeking repayment of about $30 million. Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen is owed $2.5 million. Pippen s attorney told the paper that Pippen has received half the money.
Shawne Merriman of the Buffalo Bills lent money to the pair s real estate companies, which operated under multiple names. The courts say that the Merriman is owed $3.7 million.
What they have done isn t honest I feel cheated, Merriman told the WSJ .
The two started Durham, N.C.-based Blue Devil Ventures with Tom Niemann, a Duke graduate and son-in-law of a long-time Duke trustee, the paper reports. The company s success was highlighted by a $36.5 million apartment complex that was filled with graduate students and university workers. But Niemann s interest waned as the company looked to expand to other states.
Laettner and Davis found financial help elsewhere. They bought a minority stake in the D.C. United Soccer team and attempted to purchase the Memphis Grizzlies. They borrowed money from Pippen, but the bid failed.
Plaintiffs in civil suits also include Fannie Mae, Chevron, Inc. and a Duke law professor, the WSJ reports. Davis says they intend to pay their debt.
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