Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett is demanding that the city of Chicago dismiss its $130,000 lawsuit against him for wasted time and resources.
Smollett maintained his innocence and referenced the criminal charges against him being dropped as reason to dismiss the lawsuit, according to a report published Tuesday by The Blast. The “Empire” actor claimed his story never changed from the beginning.
City of Chicago files lawsuit against Jussie Smollett to repay police investigation costs https://t.co/AHj4Ps1RTH pic.twitter.com/ZFiJ5lDxlr
— billboard (@billboard) April 12, 2019
He claimed the lawsuit “appears to be an unprecedented effort to seek penalties and resources expended in connection with allegedly false statements made to the police where the related criminal case concerning the statements was dismissed nolle pros on all counts.” (RELATED: Chicago Files Lawsuit Against Smollett To Recover Costs Of Investigating His Alleged Hate Crime)
Smollett was originally accused of falsely reporting a hate crime to the Chicago Police back in January of 2019. The charges were later dropped at the end of March, but the city of Chicago sued Smollett for what they calculated in overtime pay from investigating the allegedly false claims.
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 06: Jussie Smollett speaks at the Children’s Defense Fund California’s 28th Annual Beat The Odds Awards at Skirball Cultural Center on December 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)
The actor also argued that the city did not give sufficient evidence to back up its claim that the allegedly false police report resulted in the amount of overtime stated.
“Both claims fail to state sufficient factual allegations to support a reasonable inference that Defendant’s allegedly false statements caused the CPD 1,836 overtime hours and the City paying $130,106.15 in overtime pay,” Smollett wrote in his motion to dismiss.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 26: Actor Jussie Smollett after his court appearance at Leighton Courthouse on March 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. This morning in court it was announced that all charges were dropped against the actor. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Smollett expects the entire lawsuit to be thrown out.