Brian McKnight is taking a new legal step in his defamation lawsuit against Jaguar Wright, as he has now accused her of evading service. The R&B veteran has filed a motion asking a judge for permission to serve Wright through public advertisements in The Arizona Republic, according to a report from AllHipHop.
The lawsuit, which was filed three months ago, stems from a number of claims Wright made online against McKnight. However, the legal proceedings have stalled because, according to McKnight’s legal team, they have been unable to formally serve the documents to Wright.
McKnight’s lawyers claim they have made six separate attempts since May to hand-deliver the lawsuit to Wright’s residence in Phoenix, but each effort was unsuccessful. In one instance, someone inside the home claimed that no one named Jaguar lived there, while on other occasions, no one answered the door despite signs of activity inside. Certified mail attempts also failed to deliver the documents.
McKnight’s lawyer, Ryan Saba, stated in court filings that the continued failures show a clear pattern of avoidance. “It is apparent that [Wright] is evading service,” Saba wrote. “Given that [McKnight] made reasonable attempts to serve [Wright] and [Wright] is evading service by refusing to answer the door or open the door, or to sign the return receipt, service by publication is necessary to provide notice of [McKnight’s] complaint.”
If the judge grants the motion, McKnight would be able to move forward with the lawsuit by publishing legal notices in the newspaper, a method typically used as a last resort when a defendant cannot be located or is actively avoiding being served.