Ray Lewis suit says he was blindsided by loan

Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has filed suit against a former legal adviser alleging he had Lewis “unwittingly” obtain a personal line of credit toward a planned upscale bowling alley that never materialized.

Lewis remains on the hook for the $1.7 million loan for the now-defunct MVP Lanes LLC and continues to pay interest on it from his personal funds to avoid defaulting, according to the lawsuit, filed Friday in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

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The lawsuit was filed against Marc Seldin Rosen, a Baltimore trial lawyer and former managing member of MVP Lanes. Rosen and Lewis met more than a decade ago when Lewis was doing promotional work for K Bank, where Rosen served as chairman. Rosen ended up doing legal work for Lewis’ foundation and told The Daily Record in 2009 that the two worked together for “several years on many topics, one of which is setting up what will eventually be his second career” in business.

The lawsuit states Rosen “repeatedly held himself out to Lewis and various third parties as Lewis’s attorney,” and that Lewis signed documents for the loan without reading or comprehending them based on his “trust in Rosen as his friend, attorney and advisor.”

Rosen fought back in an emailed statement Tuesday, denying the lawsuit’s allegation.

“Ray Lewis claims that in the past he was an innocent person who was falsely accused. Ironically, the complaint filed by Ray Lewis is itself a litany of falsehoods,” Rosen said. “We have a judicial system that I believe in and that has rules. The truth will serve me well, as it always has throughout my life. That will be enough.”

MVP Lanes was the parent company of MVP Entertainment, a proposed 63,000-square foot leisure complex at Hunt Valley Towne Centre, complete with upscale dining and a memorabilia shop.

When Lewis announced his involvement in MVP Entertainment in 2009, it was reported he was the majority partner in the project. But Lewis’s lawsuit claims he only agreed to lend his name and likeness “to attract potential investors and promote the project” at the request of Rosen, who told Lewis “his own money would never be touched.”

In early 2010, when MVP Lanes needed funding, Rosen had Lewis sign documents opening a line of credit from which Rosen and MVP could obtain $1.5 million without the linebacker’s knowledge or approval, the lawsuit states.

“Rosen assured Lewis, among other things, there would be no negative financial ramifications from Lewis’s involvement in the proposed transaction,” the lawsuit states.

In April 2010, Lewis signed documents giving Rosen power of attorney “in all matters in connection with Lewis’s accounts” related to the loan, according to the complaint. Lewis learned about the $1.5 million in January 2011 when Rosen told Lewis that MVP need an additional $200,000 to “satisfy certain financial obligations MVP had under its lease agreement for the project site,” the lawsuit states.

Lewis authorized the loan on Rosen’s promises that the linebacker’s involvement “wouldn’t cost him a thing,” the complaint states.

Steven R. Freeman of Freeman, Wolfe & Greenbaum P.A. in Towson, Lewis’ lawyer, declined to comment because the litigation is pending.

The lawsuit seeks $1 million in punitive damages in addition to more than $75,000 in compensatory damages.

The case is Ray Anthony Lewis Jr. v. Marc Seldin Rosen, et al., 24C15001259.

Plans for MVP Entertainment never advanced, and MVP Lanes was sued by several subcontractors for unpaid bills. MVP Lanes forfeited its charter in October 2013 for not filing a 2012 property return, according to online state records.

MVP Lanes sued a Rhode Island company in August 2011 to force it to file paperwork necessary for a $65 million standby letter of credit to help move the project forward. MVP alleged RI Hispanic BancGroup received $90,000 in fees but MVP never received confirmation RI Hispanic sent off a critical document to the bank issuing the loan.

MVP dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice last year, according to court records.