Three friends of Nolan Wells have filed a lawsuit against former NFL star Terrell Owens, accusing him of making “false and malicious” statements following the college student’s death.
Lawyers for Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour filed the civil complaint in the Southern District of Mississippi’s Southern Division on Oct. 5. Owens’ representatives have not responded to the filing.
The lawsuit, obtained by Oxygen, alleges that Owens reposted a defamatory video originally published by the Trent Out Loud Show. According to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, the video implied that the three friends killed Wells and deleted information from his phone.
Owens allegedly shared the video with the caption: “ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!! LIKE YESTERDAY!!”
“The X Post is not only defamatory on its face,” the attorneys wrote, “but also as a full-throated endorsement of the defamatory Trent Out Loud Video.”
What Happened to Nolan Wells?
The video focused on the circumstances surrounding Wells’ death. The 18-year-old disappeared during a July 4 party on Horn Island. His friends, who have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said they loved Wells, told authorities that he chose to remain at the party after they encountered trouble with their boat and left the island that afternoon.
Wells’ body was found two days later after washing up on the island’s northwest end.
“Since that fateful and tragic day, conspiracy theorists, grifters, hoax peddlers, and other modern-day hucksters and plain liars have perpetuated the disgusting and false narrative that Warren, Jax, and Morgan somehow murdered Nolan and covered up this supposed heinous crime,” the friends’ attorneys wrote in the complaint. “These bad actors have acted on a variety of motives, including their need to identify and attack Girardian scapegoats, to garner social media clicks for profit and, in some instances, outright racism. Owens is one such bad actor, and one of the most famous such individuals.”
No Criminal Charges Filed in Nolan Wells’ Death
A report from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office, obtained by Oxygen, determined that both the cause and manner of Wells’ death were “undetermined.”
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After reviewing the evidence, a grand jury unanimously issued a “no true bill” on Sept. 18. The finding means there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges in connection with Wells’ death.
According to the report, the grand jury also found “no credible evidence” that Wells’ friends “engaged in any criminal conduct” related to his death.
The attorneys for Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour say Owens’ post had “devastating and far-reaching” effects on the three plaintiffs.
“By pairing Plaintiffs’ photo with a demand for their immediate arrest,” they alleged, “the Defamatory X Post also placed Warren, Jax, and Morgan before Owens’ audience in a false light, as murderers and participants in a murder coverup who had escaped justice, that would be highly offensive to any reasonable person.”
The lawyers further claim that Owens acted with “actual malice,” despite “absolutely no evidence” that the friends had committed wrongdoing. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages based on claims of defamation and false light.
Court records also show that the attorneys filed a separate lawsuit against Trent Hall, the operator of Trent Out Loud.
Oxygen contacted representatives for Owens and Hall but had not received an immediate response.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys told Oxygen only: “We ball.”