Tennessee judge pushes off issuing ruling in Ja Morant lawsuit

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge says she won’t immediately hand down a ruling on whether Ja Morant’s legal team successfully argued that the NBA star is immune from being sued by a teenager he punched during a pickup game in 2022. The Commercial Appeal reports Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney said she needs more time due to the lack of case precedent surrounding the lawsuit. Wednesday’s hearing centered on Morant’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit under Tennessee’s so-called ground law. The law is used in criminal cases, but Chumney’s ruling last month cleared the way for Morant’s lawyers to apply it in the civil case.