Shawne Merriman Among Four Defendants Hit With $4 Million Wrongful Death Judgment

Shawne Merriman is among four defendants held responsible for a $4 million wrongful death award, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. The outlet reports that a Los Angeles judge entered the judgment on October 5 in the case involving Kimberly Fattorini, a Playboy employee who died in 2017. The judgment follows a jury finding last year that Merriman and the other defendants were liable, TMZ says. Fattorini's parents, DeAnn and Ferdinand, were awarded millions in damages. The newly filed judgment names the former Chargers linebacker alongside J.P. Castro, Monica Maass and Elias Wehbe as responsible for the $4 million award; the report does not describe it as a separate $4 million payment from each defendant. Fattorini's parents sued Merriman in 2019. According to TMZ's account of their lawsuit, they alleged that he drugged and possibly sexually assaulted their daughter before she overdosed after a night of partying. Those are allegations from the lawsuit, not a description of a criminal conviction. The lawsuit also alleged that Fattorini texted a club promoter saying Merriman's friend had put GHB in her drink. TMZ reports that her death was ruled accidental and that alcohol, cocaine and GHB were found in her system. Merriman previously denied wrongdoing. His representative told TMZ the allegations were baseless and said police had investigated without finding evidence of wrongdoing by him. That denial remains part of the outlet's account of the case. The judge ruled in favor of the nightclub defendants, including The Highlight Room, Tao Group and The Warwick, meaning they will not pay damages to the family, TMZ reports. The judgment arrived more than nine years after Fattorini's death.