Shaq can't be served electronically in FTX class-action lawsuit, judge rules

Shaquille O'Neal cannot be served a summons electronically for a class-action lawsuit brought against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and a host of celebrity spokespeople, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday. The plaintiff's attorneys have unsuccessfully attempted to serve O'Neal in person for several months, court documents allege.

O'Neal is the only defendant in the class-action lawsuit who has not been served, attorneys alleged in a motion requesting permission to serve the "Inside the NBA" analyst electronically. The motion claims that a process server has attempted to serve O'Neal dozens of times at both his Texas and Georgia residences, and via mail to both the residences and his offices in Atlanta, where "Inside the NBA" is broadcast from.

Attorneys allege that the last time the process server attempted to serve O'Neal in Texas, he "was sent an ominous and threatening text message by O'Neal or someone acting on his behalf." The message also claimed O'Neal lives in the Bahamas, which the law firm determined to be untrue, the motion states.