LaMelo Ball lawsuit, explained: Why Timberwolves guard is being sued for six figures by former landlord originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
For the first time in his NBA career, LaMelo Ball will be on the move for the 2026-27 season.
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Earlier this offseason, the longtime Charlotte Hornets star point guard was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster trade, pairing Ball with another elite guard, Anthony Edwards.
However, with Ball now on his way out of Charlotte, he was recently named in a lawsuit alleging he owes over $100,000 in missed rent checks.
Here’s what’s known about the lawsuit against Ball over rent payments.
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The California Post first reported that on Monday, Ball was sued over accusations that he owes a landlord in North Carolina over $100,000 in missed rent payments.
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Ball, who was traded to the Timberwolves earlier in July, reportedly entered an agreeement alongside Agape Property Management Group in 2020 to rent two units in a Charlotte condominium complex, per The California Post. The units were previously owned by former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
Newton is also reportedly a part-owner of Agape Property Management Group. Per The California Post, in the lawsuit, the property owners alleged that Ball also subleased the second rental unit to Jermaine Jackson, the new Timberwolves star’s longtime manager and mentor.
However, after reportedly living in those units for years, Ball “agreed to buy his place” in May 2024, the lawsuit stated, but continued to sublet the second unit to Jackson. In the months to follow, Agape Property Management Group alleged that Ball and Jackson fell behind on rent payments.
The lawsuit stated, per the California Post, that Ball and Jackson owed rent exceeding $181,500.00 and “over $90,000.00 in unpaid HOA compliance fines.”
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Ball is being sued by Agape Property Management Group. The company reportedly owns the unit Ball was living at in Charlotte, including subleasing a second unit to his manager and mentor, Jackson.
“The Defendants’ failure to pay rent while failing to leave the premises has caused the Plaintiff substantial and potentially long-lasting harm,” Agape Property Management Group wrote in the suit, per the California Post, “including HOA non-compliance fines, lost rental income, and other monetary damages.”
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Agape Property Management Group is a real estate and property management organization that is reportedly partially owned by former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and his family.
Agape Property Management Group previously sued Jackson over the unpaid rent in a case that was dismissed on June 3. In that previous lawsuit, per the California Post, Ball was not named, but Jackson and his attorney claimed at a hearing relatedthat the apartment “needed repairs and mold treatment,” and “that’s why he’s lagged in rent payments.”
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According to WCNC, in 2024, Ball bought his condo previously owned by Newton for $2.47 million in uptown Charlotte.
The condo where Ball has lived is in the Trust building, which is also where former Hornets owner Michael Jordan once lived. Previously, Newton had purchased the property for $2.1 million in 2015, per WCNC, and Ball leased it from the former quarterback before buying it.
