R. Kelly appeared in Chicago court Wednesday for two separate hearings.
Kelly’s lawyers succeeded in reinstating the ongoing sexual assault lawsuit against the “Ignition” singer, according to a report published by the Associated Press. The lawyers argued that Kelly is illiterate and missed the lawsuit because he was served the papers in jail.
Judge vacates judgment against R. Kelly and reinstates lawsuit after the singer’s lawyers explain that he didn’t respond to being served in the case because he’s illiterate and couldn’t read the case documents. https://t.co/g41qklDTCd
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) May 8, 2019
As previously reported, Kelly lost the lawsuit on default because he didn’t show up to the hearing at the end of April. The 52-year-old singer was served the lawsuit papers while he was serving time in jail for failing to pay money he owed for child support. (RELATED: R. Kelly Back In Court To Challenge Sex Tapes, Alleging Michael Avenatti ‘Bullied’ Kim Foxx)
“R. Kelly was served while incarcerated on the child support case, and he was overwhelmed by the experience of being in jail,” Kelly’s lawyer told TMZ after the singer originally lost the lawsuit. “[Being overwhelmed] coupled with Mr. Kelly not being cognizant of what the motion fully meant led to him missing the hearing. I had no idea he had been served.”
R. Kelly judgment withdrawn after lawyers say the singer can’t read https://t.co/pnIqzaNABb pic.twitter.com/9aaZpvPFFy
— billboard (@billboard) May 8, 2019
Heather Williams sued Kelly back in February, one day before Kelly was charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse. The lawsuit claims Kelly sexually abused Williams when she was 16 years old.
Williams’ attorney claims Kelly’s team refused to get back to them regarding the lawsuit. Williams then allegedly tried to serve Kelly the papers at Trump tower, but security prevented her from reaching him.