Nolan Wells’ Friends From July 4 Party Say They ‘Do Not Deserve’ Scrutiny Amid Potential Dueling Lawsuits

An attorney representing three friends who were with Nolan Wells before he vanished from a large July Fourth party in Mississippi says the teens “do not deserve” the scrutiny they have faced in the aftermath of Wells’ death.

Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour — who were with Wells, an 18-year-old college student and athlete, on July 4 — previously joined a fundraiser to help them defend against potential lawsuits and pursue claims of “slander and libel” amid intense online scrutiny and speculation about the case. Now, the teens’ attorneys have told local media that they are planning to pursue defamation lawsuits against people who they say are making slanderous and libelous comments about the trio.

On Friday, Aug. 7, attorneys Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik — who represent Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour — traveled to Horn Island, where Wells seems to have vanished in plain sight over a month earlier, as part of their own investigation.

In a statement to PEOPLE on Aug. 9, Paltzik and Cox said their three clients “are completely innocent young men. Each of them loved Nolan Wells as a brother and each are haunted to the cores of their souls by Nolan’s tragic death.”

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Speaking with the Sun Herald on the island, Cox said, “Those three boys are good Ocean Springs people, and they do not deserve this.”

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Meanwhile, Paltzik said that he and Cox are planning lawsuits against two individuals, which he said on Friday would be drafted “damn near immediately.” The attorneys, he told the Sun Herald, “have been working tirelessly to identify the specific offenders who have, as a matter of law, defamed Warren, Jax and Morgan.”

“I can only tell you that they are two individuals who will be very recognizable,” Paltzik said of the targets. “I can tell you at this point we’re talking more about individuals, rather than entities.” Paltzik said he cannot identify the anticipated targets of the lawsuits now due to security, legal and other reasons.

The attorneys added in their Sunday statement to PEOPLE, “To all those who have defamed these good Ocean Springs people, we recommend in the strongest possible terms that you immediately apologize and retract your lies. Otherwise, we will see you in court faster than you can say ‘rush to judgment.’ ”

“And to those who are contemplating frivolous legal action against these fine young men, know this: you will lose spectacularly, be sanctioned to the fullest extent of the law, and end up paying their attorneys’ fees. Pause and reconsider,” the attorneys concluded.

The attorneys also said in the statement shared with the Sun Herald that they are “combing through all the disgraceful mainstream media coverage and social media drivel thus far” as part of their own investigation.

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