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Sprewell declined to comment after the Alameda County Superior Court jury announced its verdict following one day of deliberations and three days of testimony, but his attorney, Vernon Goins, said, "He's happy because it's been so long and so taxing."
Jurors ruled that negligence by real estate agent Nina Jurjevic and her broker, Mason-McDuffie Real Estate, was a substantial factor in causing harm to Sprewell after he sold his home at 27097 Greenhaven Rd. in Hayward.
Goins said Jurjevic "failed to do what she was supposed to do" by not disclosing to the people who bought Sprewell's home after he left the Bay Area to play for the New York Knicks that the home had water intrusion problems.
Sprewell sold his Hayward home to Gulalai Rahimi in June 1999, but she sued him on July 19, 2002, saying that she discovered a flood in the basement of the house after she moved in and alleging that Sprewell either intentionally or negligently failed to disclose the water intrusion problem.
On Dec. 23, 2005, an arbitrator ordered Sprewell to pay $540,000 in damages to Rahimi. That amount included $205,000 in attorneys' fees plus interest.
Sprewell paid the money to Rahimi, but on March 3, 2006, he filed suit against Jurjevic and Mason-McDuffie seeking to recover the money he had to pay to Rahimi plus interest and attorneys' fees.
Jurjevic's attorney, James Mills, said in his closing argument on Tuesday that Jurjevic did in fact disclose the water intrusion problems to the new owners before they bought the house.
Mills said Jurjevic did not disclose the water problems in a February 1999 transfer disclosure statement because she was unaware of any problems at that time and there wasn't a buyer of Sprewell's home at that point.
Mills said Jurjevic disclosed the water problems in later inspection reports that were attached to the transfer disclosure statement well before the sale to Rahimi was finalized.
After the verdict today, Jurjevic said of Sprewell, "I never meant to hurt him in anyway."
Mills said he's considering filing an appeal because he thinks the jurors' verdict was contradictory in that they ruled that Sprewell failed to comply with his disclosure obligations when he sold his home but also ruled that his failure wasn't a substantial factor in the economic harm he suffered.
Judge Stephen Dombrink, who presided over the case, is expected to issue a proposed judgment soon. The attorneys in the case will then have a chance to file briefs and make arguments.
Goins said he expects the judge will award at least $540,000 to Sprewell and could also add interest and legal fees.
Sprewell, 38, played with the Warriors, the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves in a career that ended after the 2004-05 season.
He played in four All-Star games and helped the Knicks reach the National Basketball Association finals in 1999.
Sprewell's reputation was tarnished after a Dec. 1, 1997, incident in which he attacked head coach P.J. Carlesimo at the Warriors' practice facility in downtown Oakland, allegedly after the coach yelled at him to make crisper passes.
According to the Warriors, Sprewell attacked Carlesimo twice in a 15-minute span, choking him at one point and threatening to kill him at another.
The Warriors voided the remainder of Sprewell's contract and the NBA expelled him, but an arbitrator reduced the suspension to the rest of that season and he joined the Knicks the following season.
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