The brothers who have been accused of co-ordinating a hate crime attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett are suing the actor's lawyers.
In a new federal lawsuit against Mark Geragos, Tina Glandian and their law firm, Ola and Abel Osundairo claim they have been set up.
Smollett was indicted on 16 charges after Chicago, Illinois lawmakers and city officials felt sure he had orchestrated the assault and filed a false police report, but the actor walked free from custody last month (Mar19) and all charges against him were surprisingly dropped.
He initially claimed two men had attacked him outside his Chicago, Illinois apartment, shouting homophobic and racist slurs and tying a noose around his neck.
The Osundairo brothers were taken into custody but released after police officials ruled they were not behind the attack.
Now, the Nigerians are going after Smollett's legal team.
"Smollett directed every aspect of the attack, including the location and the noose," their suit reads. "He used his clout as a wealthy actor to influence (the brothers) who were in a subordinate relationship to him and were aspiring to 'make it'."
The brothers claim Geragos has defamed them and they have suffered extreme emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, damages to their reputation, and damages to current and prospective business relations as a result of comments he made about them.
"Attorneys Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian, through their continued false statements and rhetoric, have only deepened the damage that was caused by the very first out of 16 counts of lies that were told to the police that started this whole situation," the Osundairos attorney Gloria Schmidt told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday morning (23Apr19).
Responding to the suit, Geragos says, "At first we thought this comical legal document was a parody. Instead, this so-called lawsuit by the brothers is more of their lawyer driven nonsense, and a desperate attempt for them to stay relevant and further profit from an attack they admit they perpetrated.
"While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public."
Smollett, who is not named in the suit, was recently sued by city of Chicago officials to cover the costs of police overtime linked to the investigation surrounding his attack.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and the city's chief pf police are still both convinced Smollett filed a false report after orchestrating the assault on himself.
