The Xavien Howard Legal Saga Includes Two Lawsuits In Three Months -- One Over Herpes
Late last week, mere hours before the Miami Dolphins boarded their charter flight to Buffalo for Saturday's game against the Bills, cornerback Xavien Howard was served with a lawsuit by his former fiancée and mother of his three children.
That suit, filed in Broward County, Florida, is currently sealed for privacy reasons. It is the second suit filed in the last three months Howard and his legal team at Brad Sohn Law must navigate.
Howard was also sued in October for "negligent transmission of genital herpes and intentional infliction of emotional distress," by a woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins tackles Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Xavien Howard Facing Not One But Two Suits
A source told OutKick the process for both cases could extend to 2024 or beyond if they go to trial.
A settlement in the cases is obviously a possibility. But no formal settlement discussions have begun on the second of the two suits.
That one is curious because it alleges three incidents from late 2019 through the spring of 2020. In those, Howard and his children's mother apparently became physical with each other.
Police arrested Howard in the December 29, 2019 incident.
The Davie police report from the time states an argument between Howard and his girlfriend stemmed from "a recent purchase of a purse at a store that wasn’t disclosed to her."
A Dolphins source told OutKick it was not disclosed because the purse was for another woman. That led to this particular argument. Another Dolphins source said in 2020 the team's understanding was the alleged victim became physical with Howard first.
Police said that December 2019 incident became physical. Howard allegedly grabbed the victim's arms and pushed her against a glass wall in their bedroom hallway.
Baltimore Ravens' Isaiah Likely (80) is tackled by Miami Dolphins' Xavien Howard (25) and Brandon Jones (29) during the game at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 18, 2022, in Baltimore. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Assault And Battery Suit After No Prosecution
Whatever the truth, Broward County prosecutors declined to prosecute because the victim later refused to cooperate. She signed an affidavit of non-prosecution because she didn't wish to proceed. She also told prosecutors she didn't fear for her safety, the state's attorney's office said at the time.
The Dolphins and NFL investigated the incident and monitored the legal proceedings. They took no action against Howard.
Sohn is well-known South Florida attorney who famously got his clients a $1.2 billion settlement in the Surfside Condominium collapse of 2021. He referred OutKick to his statement on Twitter as a response to the latest suit.
The plaintiff's previous lawyer made the $12 million demand to Howard's sports agent David Canter of the GSEWorldwide agency.
There have been no formal settlement talks with Sohn.