Shawne Merriman Ordered to Pay $4 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
A Los Angeles judge ordered the former NFL player and three others to pay damages in connection with a 2017 overdose death.
Former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman has been ordered to pay $4 million in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the 2017 overdose death of Kimberly Fattorini, a Playboy employee. The order was issued in early October by a Los Angeles judge against Merriman and three co-defendants: J.P. Castro, Monica Maass, and Elias Wehbe. A jury had previously found them liable in 2025.
Fattorini’s parents filed the lawsuit in 2019, alleging that Merriman drugged and sexually assaulted their daughter before she succumbed to an overdose. The lawsuit claimed that Fattorini, who was 30 at the time of her death, texted a club promoter stating that a friend of Merriman’s poured GHB, known as the date rape drug, into her drink. While Fattorini's death was ruled accidental, toxicology reports indicated she had alcohol, cocaine, and GHB in her system.
Merriman, 42, has denied the allegations. His attorney told TMZ that the claims were "baseless" and that a police investigation found no evidence of culpability. The lawsuit did not seek damages from the nightclub defendants, which included The Highlight Room, Tao Group, and The Warwick.
Fattorini worked as a casting associate at Playboy and also had modeling roles for publications such as Maxim and FHM Thailand. Merriman played eight seasons in the NFL, spending six years with the San Diego Chargers and two with the Buffalo Bills. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year retired in 2013 at the age of 28.