LaMelo Ball’s manager evicted from Cam Newton’s old Charlotte condo, judge rules
A local judge this week ordered LaMelo Ball’s manager be evicted from Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton’s old uptown Charlotte apartment.
A property management company owned by the Newton family filed last week to evict Jermaine Jackson, who has managed Ball since he was in high school. The company alleged Jackson owed more than $150,000 in 11 months of unpaid rent.
Despite Jackson’s arguments that he was withholding rent because a leaking aquarium needed repairs, Magistrate Judge April Mack this week ordered that Jackson leave the unit. She also dismissed his motion trying to nullify the small claims case.
Jackson’s attorney, Christi Hunoval, said she plans to appeal Mack’s order.
“This matter is more layered than a simple claim for unpaid rent,” said Hunoval, who also represented Ball in a lawsuit claiming he ran over and broke a child’s foot outside the Spectrum Center.
A second complaint on Jackson’s unpaid rent is still pending in Mecklenburg Superior Court, and has not yet come before a judge.
LaMelo Ball’s manager and neighbor evicted
When Ball became the Charlotte Hornet’ star point guard and the highest-paid athlete in Charlotte, he rented the apartment that housed Newton through his Super Bowl appearance and 10-season stint with the Panthers.
Jackson came with Ball and became his neighbor, moving into a second unit nestled above Chima Brazilian Steakhouse. Newton formerly owned both units, and his family’s company, Agape Property Management Group LLC, took control when his time with the Panthers ended, according to testimony.
After years of renting, Ball bought his unit, and Jackson had a verbal agreement with the Newtons; he would continue to pay rent on his unit.
In Mecklenburg County Courthouse last week, Cecil Newton, Cam Newton’s father, watched as attorneys detailed how Jackson failed to pay rent for the $13,500 condo for 11 months in a row. He came to owe a total of $164,700, Agape’s attorneys said.
Jackson told Mack, the magistrate, that he stopped paying rent because he “wanted some repairs done” in the unit, according to court documents. “The aquarium had a leak,” Jackson said, according to court documents, and caused “possible mildew or mold.”
Jackson’s family has not recently stayed in the unit because of the issues, Hunoval said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer.
“ J4our Ventures and Mr. Jackson do not operate by refusing to pay valid amounts owed,” Hunoval said. “However, Agape failed to maintain the unit and honor its obligations under the lease and North Carolina law.”
Mack ruled, though, that “there was no evidence to show that the unit was uninhabitable.”
On Tuesday, she ordered Jackson to leave and reinstated Agape’s control over the property. Mack also dismissed Jackson’s motion to dismiss the case altogether.
How much he owes in rent has not been determined. Jackson disputes the $13,500 rent and says it was originally $7,500.
Jackson’s lawyer argued that Jackson’s company, J4our Ventures LLC, signed a lease before establishing the verbal agreement — not Jackson individually. She said Agape did not file its documents correctly or name the correct parties.
Agape’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Another lawsuit involving Ball, which claims he broke a child’s foot while leaving the Spectrum Center years ago, will continue to play out in Mecklenburg Superior Court. Earlier this week, a judge ordered that he must give attorneys representing the child his drug prescription history and text messages.
