Davonte Pack Trial Set for May 2027 in 2022 Joshua Holloway Assault Lawsuit

Q: Ja Morant claimed self-defense and won. What happens if his friend is found liable for the very same incident?

Ja Morant’s dismissal would still stand unless a later appeal revives it; if Davonte Pack is found liable, Pack would bear responsibility for his own conduct, not Morant’s. That is because the court’s self-defense ruling was personal to Morant. Judge Carol Chumney found Morant’s punch was legally justified, which in civil terms is a complete defense for him. Pack’s alleged punch is a separate act, and a jury can decide it was unjustified even if Morant’s was justified. Two people in the same fight do not automatically share the same defense. If Pack loses at trial, Holloway could recover damages from Pack alone for the harm the jury attributes to Pack. Pack generally would not be able to seek contribution from Morant, because contribution usually runs only against another party who is also legally liable. A defendant dismissed on self-defense grounds is not a co-tortfeasor for that conduct. The only major caveat is procedural. Morant is out of the case for now, but not necessarily forever. Because the judge denied an immediate appeal, Holloway’s lawyers would likely have to wait until the rest of the case ends, then challenge the self-defense ruling in a higher court. If an appellate court later reverses that ruling, Morant could be brought back into the litigation. So a Pack liability verdict would not, by itself, undo Morant’s win. It would simply mean the law treated the two men’s actions differently in the same incident.

Q: Now in Portland, could a future appeal in his assault case derail Ja Morant's fresh start with the Trail Blazers?

Probably not in the near term, though it could create a renewed distraction later. Morant has been dismissed from the Shelby County civil suit after Judge Carol Chumney ruled in April 2025 that he acted in self-defense. The judge also denied Holloway’s request for an immediate appeal, which means Morant is out of the case for now. With the remaining civil case against Davonte Pack not set for trial until May 2027, there is no immediate legal event likely to interfere with Morant’s start in Portland. The bigger risk is timing, not certainty. Holloway’s lawyers could try to appeal Morant’s dismissal after the Pack case reaches a final judgment. If that happens, Morant could be drawn back into the litigation sometime in 2027 or later. Even then, an appeal would not automatically mean liability or a trial loss; it would mean more legal proceedings and public scrutiny. From a basketball standpoint, that is more likely to be a background issue than a derailment unless new facts emerge. The case is civil, not criminal, and Morant currently faces no active charge from this incident. Pack’s misdemeanor assault charge was already dismissed, and Morant has dropped his counterclaim, reducing the immediate legal temperature. So Morant’s fresh start with the Trail Blazers appears intact for now. The appeal possibility is real, but it is delayed, uncertain, and more likely to be a future distraction than a direct threat to his Portland tenure.

Q: When a celebrity is cleared in a lawsuit but their friend isn't, does it truly end the public controversy?

No. A legal win can end a celebrity’s direct liability, but it rarely ends the controversy when a close associate remains in the case. In Ja Morant’s situation, the court’s ruling was significant: Judge Carol Chumney found in April 2025 that Morant acted in self-defense, dismissed him from Joshua Holloway’s civil suit, and denied an immediate appeal. That gives Morant a strong legal result for now. But the broader story is still alive because Davonte Pack remains a defendant, accused of punching Holloway after Morant, with a civil trial set for May 2027. That matters because public controversy is driven by more than verdicts. Media coverage tends to follow the unresolved parts of a case, and a friend’s continued exposure keeps the original incident in circulation. In high-profile disputes, public perception often treats the event as one shared episode rather than neatly separating each person’s legal outcome. Morant also is not necessarily finished with the case. If Holloway’s lawyers appeal the self-defense ruling after the case against Pack ends, Morant could be drawn back into the litigation. That possibility alone can prolong scrutiny, especially as his move to Portland gives the story a new audience beyond Memphis. So the practical answer is that legal clearance narrows the controversy, but usually does not erase it. It shifts the focus—from whether the celebrity is liable to what the remaining case, the relationships involved, and any future appeal may still reveal.

1 articles · Updated · Commercial Appeal · Jun 29

May 2027 is the current trial date for Davonte Pack, the only remaining defendant in Joshua Holloway's civil lawsuit over a September 2022 pickup-game fight.
Pack is accused of punching Holloway after Ja Morant struck him; Pack also faced a misdemeanor simple-assault charge in July 2023, but prosecutors dismissed it that November.
Morant was dismissed from the case in April 2025 after a judge ruled he acted in self-defense, and Holloway's bid for immediate appeal was denied; Morant also dropped his counterclaim.
The lawsuit could still pull Morant back in after circuit-court proceedings end, when Holloway's lawyers would be free to appeal the self-defense ruling without seeking permission.
Nearly 4 years after the incident, the case has been slowed by repeated attorney changes for Holloway, now a University of Memphis player after transferring this offseason.