After protracted investigations, a US district judge in Las Vegas said the victim’s lawyer acted in ‘bad faith’ for use of leaked and stolen confidential documents as evidence.
The victim has subsequently lost her bid in a US court. This loss forced the Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars. She received more than $375,000 in hush money after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.
A US district judge in Las Vegas. Jennifer Dorsey kicked the case out of court on Friday. Her argument for doing so was to punish the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for “bad-faith conduct”. Conduct which included the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers.
The Ruling
In a 42-page order, Dorsey said Stovall had tainted the case beyond redemption. She added that dismissing a case with no option to file was a severe sanction, but Stovall’s conduct had harmed Ronaldo.
“Simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents have been woven into the fabric of the claims.” the ruling said.
The victim, Kathryn Mayorga is a former model and teacher. Her lawsuit said she met Ronaldo at a nightclub and went with him to his hotel, where he assaulted her in a bedroom. She was 25 at the time and he was 24. Ronaldo’s legal team does not dispute that he met and had sex with her in 2009, but they maintain it was consensual.
Dorsey followed recommendations from a US magistrate judge, Daniel Albregts, that the case be dismissed for bad faith.
