Former NBA star/Carmen Electra husband/all-around freak Dennis Rodman just got slapped with a $225,000 judgment for smacking the backside of a Vegas cocktail waitress in 2006. Sara Robinson Ure worked as a “beverage manager” at the Cuba Libre bar (now closed) in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. She claimed that Rodman got hammered, grabbed her butt and tried to force her to dance with him and that it completely humiliated her in front of co-workers and guests.
She filed a lawsuit in 2007 , claiming “as Sara Robinson (her maiden name) stepped around the bar, Rodman grabbed her, pulled her towards him and rubbed his body against hers. Robinson tried to get free from Rodman’s grasp at which time he assaulted her by reaching down and slapping her open-handed on the bottom.”
Rodman never responded to the suit at all, so the judgment was by default.
Two things to point out: first, several of the internet accounts I’ve read of this suit reference Sara Robinson Ure as getting rich or getting a big payout. A judgment does NOT equal money. Rodman refused to even acknowledge the lawsuit. Chances that he will voluntarily pay this judgment are slim to none. Robinson Ure will have to continue to pursue Rodman through the courts to try to identify his assets and collect her judgment.
Second, this case is not the normal federal lawsuit. It ended up in federal court though because, presumably, Robinson Ure is a Nevada resident and Rodman lives elsewhere (probably California). Suits between residents of different states can be heard in federal court, even if they don’t implicate federal law. So, there you have it – your federal jurisdiction lesson of the day.
