Rusty Hardin asked for it, and Rusty Hardin is getting it.
After jostling for weeks to force the 22 women who sued Hardin’s client, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson under a Jane Doe pseudonym to disclose their identities, Hardin will learn the names of all plaintiffs.
Via Aaron Reiss of TheAthletic.com, attorney Tony Buzbee said Tuesday that his office will be amending the complaints to disclose the names of all victims.
The move comes as no surprise. Last week, judges ruled that 14 of the 22 plaintiffs must be named. It likely was inevitable that the other eight also would have been required to disclose their identities.
Watson eventually will file a formal answer to each complaint, in which he’ll respond point by point to the accusations made. He’ll also list various “affirmative defenses,” legal theories that he possibly will be pursuing in order to limit or defeat liability and/or damages.
The cases will proceed unless resolved. In most jurisdictions, it takes roughly 18 months to two years for a case to end up in trial, after it was initially filed.