Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere is set to testify in a $100 million defamation lawsuit filed by Florida businessman Grant Cardon for rejecting his offer to settle with an apology, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The prospect of a deposition increases the risks for Rougere because it would involve lengthy questioning under oath about his past inflammatory comments that are now at the center of the case.
In recent weeks, Mr. Legere had tried to head off a defamation lawsuit he filed in state court in Florida, proposing a settlement that would have required him to publicly apologize to Mr. Cardone, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Legere also sought a protective order to block public access to evidence in the case.
But Cardon, a billionaire private equity fund manager and staunch supporter of Donald Trump, has told his lawyers that he feels the offer is insufficient and is seeking repayment of damages he says are more than $100 million, the people said.
The deposition will be the next big legal turning point after Florida Chief Judge William Thomas denied Legere’s motion to dismiss the case in May. Reached by phone, Cardon declined to comment on reports of the proceedings. Legere couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The case has become famous among advisers and allies of former President Trump, in part because of Cardone’s ties to Trump and the apparent desire of those around Trump to punish their opponents through the legal system.
Cardone filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Legere in January, alleging that Legere, who left T-Mobile in 2020, made false and inflammatory statements in 2023 during heated public debates on the Clubhouse app and Twitter/X.
The lawsuit alleges that Legere made a series of defamatory statements against Cardon, including accusing him of engaging in fraud. In one exchange, Legere called Cardon a “bullshit man and sales and marketing guy who’s always selling stuff,” according to court documents.
Cardone could face obstacles over some of Rougere’s allegedly defamatory statements, including at least one that Rougere described as a protected expression of opinion: “In my opinion, you are a fraud,” Rougere said, a typical defense to a defamation suit.
But the lawsuit alleges that comments about Mr. Rougere’s character and performance cost his company about $100 million in losses, and they also scared off some people Mr. Cardone was trying to recruit, causing them to back out of deals, the people said.
Cardon, a New York Times bestselling author who appeared on the show “Undercover Billionaire,” has been a strong and longtime supporter of Trump and has ties to many in his inner circle.
In February, Cardon and his wife launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help cover some of Trump’s legal costs after he was ultimately ordered to pay roughly $500 million for fraudulently inflating his assets.
The fundraiser, which raised just over $2 million, came after Trump gave a keynote speech at Cardone’s 10X Growth conference in Hollywood in March 2022. Trump attended an hour-long fireside chat with Cardone, where he again laid out his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
