MIAMI (AP) -Dwyane Wade finally got his chance to play offense in his $25 million breach-of-contract trial.
Richard Bales, the attorney representing the two of Wade’s former business partners who are suing for damages over a failed restaurant deal, needed only about five minutes Tuesday to wrap up direct examination of the 2006 NBA finals MVP and turning the proceedings over to Wade’s lawyer, Michael Kreitzer.
Bales questioned Wade for nearly six hours over parts of three days. He was to begin redirecting questions to Wade later Tuesday afternoon following a lunch recess.
er off-court endeavors, including basketball camps for children.
“Well, yeah,” Wade said. “The kids got to eat.”
Wade also told Kreitzer, as he said in response to a question from Bales under direct examination, that he was committed to making the restaurant project work, and that he believed his now-scorned partners were the right people to make that happen. He also detailed how the restaurants were marketed at Heat games and how he looked forward to bringing family and friends to the establishments.
“I wanted to have successful restaurants,” Wade testified. “I leaned on them. I leaned on our partners to lead us there.”
Plaintiffs Mark Rodberg and Lauren Hollander contend that they lost millions when Wade walked away from their arrangement, a move sparked by Wade and longtime associate Marcus Andrews not getting a significantly higher ownership stake than first agreed upon.
Wade and Andrews originally were to receive a combined 12 percent, then ultimately asked for a 30 percent share after Wade said he and Rodberg came to a “mutual agreement” that another former partner, Richard von Houtman, did not fulfill his responsibilities regarding the deal.
Von Houtman is expected to testify later in the trial.
urants become what they are. I had a comfort zone with Mark to the point where I remember taking my mom to the restaurant to meet Mark. I really had a lot of confidence in him that he knew what he was doing.”
Wade is seeking damages as well, saying his name and likeness were used in ways he did not approve, which would have violated the original agreement between the sides.
“That was the provision that I thought was the most important … that I had the right of approval,” Wade testified.
The case will take a break Wednesday so a juror can attend a family funeral, then resume Thursday before taking a four-day recess. Wade is due in Chicago on Friday for another hearing in his ongoing divorce and custody battle; he is seeking sole custody of his two sons.
Prior to court beginning Tuesday, Bales again expressed reservations to the court about aspects of media coverage of the case, asking Judge Peter Adrien to question jurors individually about whether they had been exposed to written or electronic reports about the trial.
Adrien granted such a request Monday. He denied Bales on Tuesday.
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