To no surprise, the woman who accused Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman of false imprisonment and battery isn’t happy with the decision not to prosecute him.
And, to no surprise, Tila Tequila Nguyen will pursue the day in court that prosecutors have declined to provide her, by filing a civil lawsuit against Merriman.
The disclosure comes at the conclusion of the following statement issued by Nguyen’s representative to TMZ.com:
“Tila Tequila is the victim of a violent crime. The San Diego District attorney’s decision not to press charges against Shawne Merriman for the battering of Tila Tequila demonstrates an unconscionable negligence in the discharging of their public duties. We strongly feel that justice has not been served in this matter.
“Obviously, The San Diego Charger’s NFL franchise brings millions of dollars in revenue to the city of San Diego, and it seems clear that other interests are being served by the DA’s office than the upholding of the law. A young woman was violently beaten and choked, and the physical evidence is both overwhelming and disturbing. Tila’s account of the events has remained consistent from the beginning, while Merriman’s story has changed repeatedly.
“Just because the DA has made this reckless decision doesn’t mean that justice will not be served in this case. No one is above the law. Tila Tequila will immediately begin pursuing civil charges against Mr. Merriman and she will have her day in court.”
Whoever wrote that statement has little or no appreciation of the realities of the California criminal justice system. You know, the same criminal justice system that nearly 14 years ago allowed O.J. Simpson to get away with a double homicide. (Allegedly.)
The contents of Nguyen’s Twitter page, both the stuff that was deleted and the stuff that wasn’t, persuaded us that her story would never hold up under aggressive cross examination, and that she’d likely be unable to otherwise control her emotions in the courtroom, doing things like huffing and puffing and rolling her eyes and making nasty faces and generally doing things that can alienate a jury.
Basically, she would have been doing the kind of stuff she’ll be doing if she sues Merriman and the case goes to trial.
Then again, the fact that she comes off as (frankly) a complete flake doesn’t mean she has no rights. And she has the right to pursue them in court. And even though no criminal charges were filed, she could still win a civil case against Merriman.
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Just means more business for David Cornwell.
“Tila Tequila will immediately begin pursuing civil charges against Mr. Merriman and she will have her day in court.”
Wow. Who could have seen that one coming? That’s almost as shocking as a NFL player not wanting to go to Oakland from New England. World is full of surprises today.
I wonder if that lawyer was able to keep a straight face when he said ” Tila Tequila will immediately begin pursuing civil charges against Mr. Merriman and she will have her day in court.”
Attention whore.
Her and 85 oughta hookup.
Maybe he won’t be a Merry Man if she Nguyen’s her case.
This idiot skank is freakin’ scary crazy.
I think the proper way of discribing Miss tequila is attention whore. that being said I would have loved to see Meriman get charged.
It’s really too bad that in this case a lawyer can’t be held in violation of ethics laws and sued for liable and slander… by the DA’s office.
The fact that she had “no visable injuries” right there tells all sane people that she obviously wasn’t “violently chocked” as that would leave some mark, cause her to lose conciousness (sp? as in ‘passed out’) or something other then the drunken condition the cops found her in.
FYI: The cops in San Diego don’t necessarily like football players… wasn’t one of them shot by a cop a couple of years ago? –
Holding lawyers responsible for the cost of this type of lawsuit would be a start in reforming the system.
js
But Merriman is not a complete flake .Suspended for Steroid use and now involved in litigation of an alleged assault.Your reporting is so biased it’s laughable.
This Skanky immature girl is nothing but a friggin’ joke.
“Whoever wrote that statement has little or no appreciation of the realities of the California criminal justice system. You know, the same criminal justice system that nearly 14 years ago allowed O.J. Simpson to get away with a double homicide. (Allegedly.)”
Wow Florio, your comparing O.J. Simpson who murdered a woman to Shawne Merriman who, in front of witnesses, stop a drunk woman from driving home.
Thats sad!
Nothing says “take me serious” like releasing your statement to TMZ.
A civil suit eh? I saw this coming from this midget slut a mile away.
Not only did the nightclub manager discredit her “I am allergic to alcohol” crap, now the DA basically told her to piss off.
I hope she does not get a dime.
Umm, her lawyer is on the record stating that?
She said (eh ‘tweeted’) that there WAS NO WAY she could have been drunk because she’s allergic to alcohol yet in the past she has admitted being drunk, drinking for fun, etc. etc.
Yet she didn’t change her story?
Dumb move IMHO.
All of her deleted tweets are going to come back and haunt her.
She can’t win squat. I bet next week, her atty dumps her.
After all the stuff she has said on twitter, she will be lucky if a libel suit isn’t filed against her!
A civil suit also can be done a little more unobtrusively and of course has a lower evidence threshold. In case people haven’t noticed, a women accusing a famous dude of rape or assault pretty much automatically gets ripped apart. Remember how in the U.S. a defendant is innocent until proven guilty? Too bad that doesn’t go for the accuser as well. Mostly though, who gives a crap about this story? Correct me if I’m wrong, but even Chargers fans think Merriman’s a douche, right? If we steer this back to football, isn’t it most likely Merriman is just a system player coming off a major injury who’s replacement was just drafted?
Good for him. Now, let’s set him off……FERRY-MAN.
I agree, it is sad that the city of San Diego and the Chargers football club won’t immediately sue her mouthpiece for making what amount to extremely serious accusations. He has accused the District Attorney’s office of “dereliction of duty,” and has accused the city and the team of colluding to subvert the rule of law. To my lay view, that certainly seems to qualify as defamation.
Someone needs to get Roethlisberger’s legal team on this case. They seem to know how to handle things like this.
I also agree that going straight to TMZ raises a red flag. This seems to be nothing more than a calculated ploy on the part of a childish TV personailty to gain publicity. As if the Tweets weren’t enough evidence in that regard.
I guess that means ESPN will now drop the story
Just beat a case, now he’s ready for a huge year… LIGHTS OUT!
I understand why she would SAY this today,
hoping to soften the bad news against her…
but no competent lawyer is actually going to
let her take this joke of a case into a courtroom!
Did i read this article right? Did Florio use O.J. Simpsons name in a some-what comparison to what Merriman did? …lol.
My God Florio, you’re slipping man…..wow.
She/It looks an awful like the alien baby that Will Smith caught in the first MIB movie IMO.
Skank
Mr. Merriman is 100% guilty of bad judgement. Why he was every hanging out with her, in public no less, the week before the season starts is just a cry for help. Just says a lot about Merriman.
A friend of mine used to live on the street and tells a story about how he used to steal bologna. It was only later he realized he could have just as easily stolen roast beef or steak. He figured he just has a bologna mentality.
I see Merriman in the same light. He can have top of the line women (at the same time I might add), but he is choosing bologna.
GOLD DIGGING BITCH.
If the criminal court system basically told Gizmo to take a hike than how can she expect to get anything from him? F OFF jackass find some other sucker to try and screw over, and good luck getting another 15 minutes the fact that no one liked you the first time around should be an example for you.
now i’m confused, the statement reads that she was “beaten and choked” BUT the FACTUAL report is that she didn’t have a scratch on her when the paramedics checked her that same night. I swear if she gets a cent, that just further proves how flawed our legal system is ….
I think she just pissed that her show flopped and no one in their right mind wanted her ass !!!
how this “no-talent” hoe gets all this attention is beyond me …
i really hope she just embarasses herself in court … 4 real …
Merriman Rapistburger
hehehehehehe. I made a funny!
Why the hell would an NFL player waste his time with such a skank? This guy should be hitting the cream of the crop……I don’t get it…….She’s ugly as sin, nothing but an attention whore, maybe he’s just freakin stupid…..If so…..Then have at it and enjoy your name on TMZ everyday………..Shrug
Does anyone find it interesting that her lawyer refers to her by her “F” list MTV name and not her legal name?
DirtyHippy – Classic dude. Bologna…haaaa.
Great Florio, Bring up OJ and Merriman in the same post. Like one has anything to do with the other. You just gave every idiot faider fan something to latch on to. OJ murdered and almost decapitated his ex-wife, Shawne tried to stop a drunk, disease riddled skank from driving. I hope this whore tries a civil suit. The preponderance of evidence is on his side. Matters not, number 12 against the faiders is coming Monday night. Life is good in San Diego.
There are real women out there who have been beaten and abused. This slimy piece of trash is too stupid to even know how far she has set them back. Nicole Simpson called the cops on her murderer how many times and no one took it seriously? This disease riddled trash commanded national attention. It’s a shame OJ is in jail and doesn’t have tequila’s phone number. Because of this whore and Ben’s psycho women who actually suffer abuse will have a much harder time being taken seriously. As a woman, if I saw this skank in San Diego I’d give her more than a few bruises about the (unnaturally huge) head and neck. I’m not much bigger than her but I’d pull a Wayne Brady and choke a bit$$.
There are real women out there who have been beaten and abused. This slimy piece of trash is too stupid to even know how far she has set them back. Nicole Simpson called the cops on her murderer how many times and no one took it seriously? This disease riddled trash commanded national attention. It’s a shame OJ is in jail and doesn’t have tequila’s phone number. Because of this whore and Ben’s psycho women who actually suffer abuse will have a much harder time being taken seriously. As a woman, if I saw this skank in San Diego I’d give her more than a few bruises about the (unnaturally huge) head and neck. I’m not much bigger than her but I’d pull a Wayne Brady and choke a bit$$.
A busted steroid junkie and a porno whore, who cares 2 lowlifes.
wrong place, wrong time, with the wrong person. Can’t live in a bubble, but you can be aware of your surroundings and who you choose to hang out with. Shawne look what happened to you when the lights went on…
YAWN……….. your 15 minutes are up get back in your hole tequila. Oh my God she is allergic to her own name.
Maybe he won’t be a Merry Man if she Nguyen’s her case.
Ding ding ding. We have a winnah!!!!
@dirt hippy
Classic and exactly right
You all kill me calling her all those names when every damn one of you would kill to get a peice of her
That is if your mothers would let you have girls in the basement
We all know what happen last time that happened
maybe she will hook up with Chris Brown next
Looks like Tila’s money from her award winning show has finally ran out and it’s time to TRY and replenish her bank account so she can ride things out until she is offered an Oscar winning role in a blockbuster movie.
Maybe she should team up with Vanilla Ice, Ron Jeremy, Danny Bonaduce, and Lindsay or Britney for a Broadway show.
Bad call on Merriman choosing someone with such class and high self esteem. You could pretty much nail down what his television viewing schedule consist of.
Look for a video of them together hitting the internet soon.
Their parents must be so proud.
I look at the majority of the posts on this thread and cannot see how any of you can criticize either of the two people in the story. The boorish, ignorant, and void of intelligence statements here are an embarrassment to civil society. PFT’s author is not much above that level either.
It is pitiful that there are people in the world of journalism, or those who want to be journalists, that are not getting the opportunity to publish good, sound work, while this garbage of a page is a permanent part of NBC’s online sports dialogue.
The comments about Merriman being a steroid abuser, the lady being a skank, or any of most of those here are pathetic and devoid intellectualism and civility. It is absolutely unbelievable what people will write from the anonymity of being behind a PC screen, but it also shows the level of immaturity that many Americans have, in regards to their behavior. Mr. Florio seems more interested in having a “Jerry Springer” type column than writing pertinent and intelligent stories. I wish I could write trash like this and get paid for it, but, when your audience has the intellect of a slug, this is what passes for gut wrenching journalism. We are living in a sad human condition for people to believe this is acceptable writing and commenting.
Henry Hale = Failed Journalist
I think the lawyer is running his mouth for a contingency fee. What a blowhard. He almost blows as hard as his skank client. She will probably “do him” if they score a financial payoff. Pimp and ho, sounds like to me. Stay in the press and keep extending her 15 minutes of fame moron, you are an unconcienable liar yourself, Mr. Lawyer. I hope that you realize that this will be your last client, are you sure that you want to continue? The press is going to ream you a new one. What a douche bag.