LOS ANGELES — A jury has ordered James Harden to pay nearly $1 million in punitive damages and share in the payment of another $450,000 in compensatory damages in a contract dispute lawsuit related to a Beverly Hills mansion the Los Angeles Clippers guard leased in 2019.
Plaintiff George Santopietro’s long-running Los Angeles Superior Court complaint alleged that Harden paid $82,200 to stay for a week at the home contingent on him not having more than seven guests. But Harden had multiple parties during the lease term in which he hosted more than 15 people and the home suffered property damage that negatively affected Santopietro’s relationship with the homeowners association, according to the plaintiff’s court papers.
On March 19, the jury found after about two hours of deliberations that Harden committed fraud and directed him to pay $900,000 in punitive damages to Santopietro. The panel also found that Harden shares responsibility to the plaintiff for the $450,000 in compensatory damages with a management company and its owner, who the landlord alleged had entered a “vacation rental agreement” intended to benefit Harden.
Santopietro sued Harden and the other parties in September 2019. In his court papers, Harden’s lawyer maintained that Santopietro was “taking advantage of the tenants with the goal of extorting money from them or to get a default.”
Harden’s attorney also said in his pleadings that Santopietro lives in Bangkok and “is well connected and is someone who threatens and intimidates everyone.”
Harden, 35, joined the Clippers in October 2023, four months after requesting a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. He attended Artesia High School in Lakewood and led the team to two state titles. He is the highest-scoring left-handed shooter in NBA history.
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