Jimmie Allen's attorneys want to drop him as he fights sex assault cases, trial dates set

Delaware country superstar Jimmie Allen might be parting ways with his legal team amid allegations that he sexually assaulted two women.

No criminal charges have been filed against the singer.

A few days after Allen played two charity Christmas concerts in Dewey Beach to benefit Sussex Consortium, his attorneys claimed he hadn't upheld the terms of their engagement for the sex abuse cases.

This prompted Allen's legal team to ask to withdraw from his case in a court filing last month (as previously reported by The Tennessean, a sister publication to Delaware Online/The News Journal). 

An attorney for one of the plaintiffs has alleged that the attorneys' withdrawal is an attempt by the Milton native to hold up the case, and she asked the court to keep Allen's legal counsel on the case.

Elizabeth Fegan, a Chicago lawyer representing Allen’s former manager in her lawsuit against the singer, said in a Dec. 29 court filing that she has dealt with three different groups of lawyers for Allen in the last year, the Tennessean reports.

Fegan accused Allen of changing attorneys to stall her client’s right to collect evidence to prove her case.

Is Jimmie Allen playing musical chairs with attorneys?

"Allen, who dropped two new videos for his song “Better Now” during the holiday season, has a track record of moving through attorneys. These tactics are part of Allen’s continuing pattern of conduct to forestall Plaintiff’s right to gather discovery to pursue her claims," Fegan wrote.

Jonathan Cole and Katelyn Dwyer of Nashville law firm Baker Donelson did not say in their motion to withdraw as counsel what exactly Allen may have done beyond being “unable to comply with the terms of his engagement,” but they said that they are not trying to cause a delay.

According to Fegan, Cole and Dwyer have collected information relevant to the case sought by the plaintiff in discovery, but they don't intend to produce it before withdrawing as Allen’s lawyers.

Meanwhile, the “Down Home” singer’s public relations manager Dria Baum said he simply “decided it was best for his case to bring in new legal counsel at the top of the year.”

Judge William Campbell will rule if Cole and Dwyer are allowed to leave the case.

Allen’s sex assault case began in 2023

Last May, Allen’s former manager filed a lawsuit against him claiming he sexually assaulted her. A month later, a second accuser came forward and that resulted in BBR Music Group immediately dropping the singer.  In July, Allen countersued both of his accusers.

A glimpse at Allen’s legal team

Fegan said when she contacted Allen about the former manager's plans to sue, she first heard from Deborah Adams from Nashville law firm Frost Brown Todd in November and December 2022.

Then a day before the lawsuit was filed, she heard from Andrew Brettler from Hollywood boutique law firm Berk Brettler. In July 2023, Cole and Dwyer told the court that they were representing Allen.

Throughout the case, Fegan requested that Allen produce electronic information related to the case. The court imposed a Dec. 29 deadline for Allen’s lawyers to provide the information.

In a court filing, Fegan wrote that Allen “failed to produce the most basic information sought in discovery.”

When is Jimmie Allen scheduled to go to trial?

During a meeting on Dec. 21, the same day they filed a motion to withdraw as Allen’s counsel, Cole and Dwyer said for the first time they used a vendor to collect electronically stored information from two of Allen’s cell phones, Fegan said.

They told Fegan the vendor that collected the information will store it until the Milton native retains new legal counsel, Fegan wrote in a court filing, but she added that she's “uncertain that all relevant [electronically stored information] have been preserved and/or collected from Allen.”

In the other lawsuit against Allen, Fegan didn't oppose Cole and Dwyer’s withdrawal, which a judge approved on Dec. 28. Allen hasn’t identified his new lawyers in that case yet.

The lawsuits by his former manager and his second accuser are scheduled to go to trial in November 2024 and March 2025, respectively.

If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at [email protected]. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Country star Jimmie Allen is accused of delaying sex assault case