Nevada Neighbor Sues Kingman for Remarks

Former major league slugger Dave Kingman has been accused of defamation, trespassing and verbal assault in a lawsuit filed by one of his neighbors in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

The neighbor, Stephen Wassner, is Nevada’s chief deputy public defender. He is seeking a permanent order barring Kingman from approaching Wassner and his parents, who live nearby.

Kingman is accused of verbally harassing Wassner on Sept. 2, and the lawsuit contends that Kingman has a history of shouting unprovoked obscenities at the plaintiff and his family.

The lawsuit also contends that, last February, Kingman trespassed on the Wassners’ property with his snow remover, destroyed some trees and allegedly drove it in a way that threatened Wassner’s mother. The suit seeks $30,000 in damages and an additional $100,000 in punitive damages.

Kingman, 38, hit 442 home runs in 16 major league seasons. He became a free agent after the 1986 season with the Oakland A’s and called off a comeback attempt with Phoenix of the Pacific Coast League earlier this year.