Origins in a 2017 Knicks Game Incident
The legal saga stems from a 2017 incident at MSG where Oakley was forcibly ejected from a Knicks game. Oakley sued the arena and team owner James Dolan, claiming security used excessive force and threw him to the ground.
After years of back-and-forth between district and appellate courts, MSG moved for summary judgment in May, arguing video evidence undermines Oakley’s narrative. That motion is still pending.
Judge’s Rebuke Clears Way for MSG’s Fee Request
Judge Sullivan concluded that Oakley intentionally destroyed key text messages, which were the only contemporaneous written records of his side of the incident. That finding opened the door for MSG’s current bid to recover legal costs.
“MSG spent considerable time and resources investigating Oakley’s spoliation in the face of Oakley and his counsel’s continued obfuscation, misdirection, and outright lies,” attorneys for the arena argued.
Legal Teams
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For Oakley: Nelson Boxer and Marcelo Triana of Petrillo Klein & Boxer LLP; Douglas Wigdor, Valdi Licul and Katherine Vask of Wigdor LLP.
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For MSG: Not listed in the filing.
Attorneys for Oakley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
