Three weeks after a temporary restraining order request against Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua was denied in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the woman who accused the wide receiver of biting her withdrew the petition for the protective order without prejudice on Tuesday, according to court records.
Attorney Joseph Kar, who is representing Madison Atiabi, said in a statement to The Athletic that they withdrew the petition to focus on the civil lawsuit that was filed against Nacua on March 25. The day before the lawsuit was filed, a judge denied Atiabi’s request for a protective order against Nacua because the court needed more information “at a properly noticed hearing” before issuing any order. That hearing was Tuesday, when Kar made an oral request to dismiss the matter without prejudice and Judge Debra R. Archuleta granted it, according to court records.
“A voluntary withdrawal allows for the merits of the civil matter to be thoroughly investigated and tried to a jury,” Kar said in a statement. “Civil harassment petitions are not normally ever tried before any jury while the civil lawsuit will be proceeding on all counts to a jury.”
In the lawsuit, Atiabi, who is Jewish, alleges that Nacua shouted “F— all the Jews” during a group dinner in Los Angeles and later bit her on the shoulder and her female friend’s thumb on New Year’s Eve without their consent and without provocation. On Jan. 2, the Los Angeles Police Department opened a criminal battery investigation, Kar said.
Levi McCathern, Nacua’s attorney, again denied that his client made antisemitic remarks that night and said the petition filed against Nacua was “entirely baseless.”
“The filing was nothing more than a spectacle,” McCathern said in a news release Wednesday. “It was all for show. Quite simply, these claims are untrue and had no merit whatsoever, and the Court’s dismissal makes that clear. Those accusations are quite simply untrue. We have witnesses and evidence that completely discredit those claims, and both Ms. Atiabi and her attorney know that.”
“If Ms. Atiabi intends to pursue the civil case, we welcome that process and will challenge her allegations head-on,” McCathern added. “We are also preparing to pursue a defamation claim, because this was nothing more than a calculated money grab built on false and damaging statements.”
Before the lawsuit was filed, Nacua checked into a private facility on his own “to focus on his health, personal growth and overall development,” McCathern told The Athletic earlier this month.
Kar said he noted in Tuesday’s hearing that Nacua was in drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Atiabi is seeking monetary damages. A court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3.