The heated legal battle between Georgia Tech basketball coach Josh Pastner and an Oro Valley couple will go to trial in August.
Pastner, a former Arizona Wildcats player and assistant coach, filed a lawsuit against Ron Bell and Jennifer Pendley in January, accusing the couple of attempted blackmail. The lawsuit says Bell and Pendley unsuccessfully tried to blackmail Pastner several times before making false and defamatory statements to the press. In February, the couple filed a counterclaim, saying that Pastner sexually assaulted Pendley once and groped her several other times.
Since the filing of the counterclaim, two key pieces of evidence have come into dispute. The couple's original attorney has quit the case, saying he believed the couple exaggerated or fabricated their claims against Pastner.
In September, Pima County Superior Court Judge Brenden Griffin ordered sanctions against Bell and Pendley, after they failed to follow court orders regarding discovery.
A few weeks ago, Pastner's lawyers filed documents showing that the couple owed them a little more than $40,000 for legal fees and costs associated with the discovery dispute.
Lawyers for Bell and Pendley told Griffin Thursday that they'll be filing a response to the proposed fees — which they are disputing — in the next several days and intend to request a "culprit hearing" to try to offset costs to the couple's former lawyer, who they say is responsible for the delay in producing discovery materials.
Griffin set the three-week trial to begin Aug. 20, in order to accommodate Pastner's coaching schedule. He told attorneys that the only way he would reschedule the trial was if all parties agreed to the delay.
Pastner's lawyers said that if the case didn't go to trial in August, the earliest he would be available would be February or March of 2020.
