Ex-NFL Star Shawne Merriman and Three Others Ordered to Pay $4M in Playboy Employee Wrongful Death Case
LOS ANGELES — According to court documents obtained by TMZ, a Los Angeles County judge earlier this month entered a $4 million judgment against former NFL Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman and three other defendants over the 2017 overdose death of Playboy employee Kimberly Fattorini. The judgment was officially entered on October 5, more than nine years after Fattorini's death.
TMZ reported that a jury last year found Merriman and the other defendants liable and awarded Fattorini's parents, DeAnn and Ferdinand Fattorini, millions of dollars in damages. The newly entered $4 million judgment holds Merriman, J.P. Castro, Monica Maass and Elias Wehbe responsible. The judge also ruled in favor of the nightclub defendants, including The Highlight Room, Tao Group and The Warwick, meaning they will not have to pay damages to Fattorini's family.
Fattorini's parents sued in 2019, claiming Merriman drugged and possibly sexually assaulted their daughter before she overdosed following a night of partying. The lawsuit alleged Fattorini texted a club promoter that Merriman's friend had poured GHB into her drink. Her death was ruled accidental, with alcohol, cocaine and GHB found in her system. Merriman previously denied any wrongdoing, with his representative telling TMZ the allegations were baseless and that police had investigated without finding evidence of wrongdoing on his part. (GSM, reporting from TMZ)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Shawne Merriman 2019 年出席公开活动时的资料照片（背影，球衣号码56）。照片：Erik Drost 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Shawne Merriman at a public event in 2019 (file photo). Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-19Ex-NFL Star Shawne Merriman and Three Others Ordered to Pay $4M in Playboy Employee Wrongful Death CaseThis story
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