U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty issued a default judgment against Gooding on Thursday, saying it appeared the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star was willfully ignoring the lawsuit and that waiting for him any longer would be unfair to his accuser. Judge Crotty said that under the law, the 53-year-old Gooding’s failure to respond and defend himself in the lawsuit constituted an admission of liability. The judge gave Gooding a final deadline of Sept. 7 to participate in the case. Gooding was served with court papers April 22 and failed to respond to an initial May 13 deadline, Crotty said in his order. In his criminal case, being tried in state court in New York, Gooding is accused of violating three different women at three different Manhattan night spots in 2018 and 2019.

Source: ABC News July 30, 2021 17:48 UTC