Appeals court says unpaid lawyers may quit

HASTINGS, Mich. (AP) - A federal appeals panel has reversed a judge's order that forced unpaid attorneys to continue to represent former Major League Baseball player Chad Curtis.

Curtis is in prison for sexual misconduct with teenage girls in western Michigan. He said he didn't intend to pay his attorneys and would represent himself in a civil lawsuit.

The Grand Rapids Press reports attorneys for Warner Norcross & Judd LLP asked to withdraw, but U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff ordered them to continue representing Curtis. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last Thursday said that wasn't proper.

Girls at Lakewood High School said Curtis touched them inappropriately while he was a volunteer. Curtis denies the allegations but declined to testify at trial.

Curtis played Major League Baseball from 1992 through 2001.

Published: Mon, May 11, 2015