U.S judge dismisses Cristiano Ronaldo's rape lawsuit in Las Vegas and punishes women’s attorney with sanction for 'bad faith’ conduct.
The rape lawsuit filed by Kathryn Mayorga in Las Vegas against Cristiano Ronaldo has been dismissed by a U.S district court. The court cited “bad-faith conduct” by her attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, as per the Association Press and sanctioned them.
Nevada-based Mayorga took the Manchester united star to court to pay millions of dollars more than the $375,000 she received after alleging he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009. U.S District Judge Jennifer Dorsey of Las Vegas released a 42 page order at the end of her ruling.
She said that the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing attorney-client discussions between Ronaldo and his Lawyers tainted the case beyond redemption.
Dorsey has dismissed the case and has also ruled out the possibility of the case being filed again in the same court. The AP reported that Stovall can Appeal the decision to the 9th U.S Circuit court of Appeal in San Francisco.
Here are some of the excerpts from the official ruling from Dorsey, courtesy of ESPN: “I find that the procurement and continued use of these documents was bad faith and simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents and their confidential contents have been woven into the very fabric of Mayorga's claims.”
She added that Stovall's bad conduct and the damage done to Cristiano Ronaldo’s reputation from the same forced her hand to give harsh sanctions. She added.
Tennis.
Iga Swiatek pulls out of German Open due to a shoulder injury, but sets sights on a return for Wimbledon.
Iga Swiatek has pulled out of the German Open due to an issue with her shoulder. On her personal Twitter account, Swiatek announced that she would not be able to compete in Berlin. “Due to a recurrent discomfort I am feeling in my shoulder, unfortunately I need to withdraw from the bett 1 open in Berlin,” she said. “I’m sorry I will not be able to play there. I will focus on recovery and rest in order to be ready for Wimbledon.” The German Open was one of the oldest WTA tournaments until it stopped in 2008. It was set to return in 2020, but due to the pandemic, Its return to the WTA calendar was pushed back in 2021, with Liudmila Samsonova winning the singles event. The competition in Berlin is often used as a warm-up for Wimbledon, with both events being played on grass. The Polish star is just off the back of winning the 2022 French Open title. She finished the tournament with a 35-match winning streak, which matches the longest unbeaten streak since Venus Williams in 2005. The victory also saw her become only the 10th woman to win more than one Roland Garros singles title in the Open era, following her shock victory in 2020 as an unseeded teenager. After her victory against Coco Gauff in the final, Eurosport experts Tim Henman and Chris Evert were full of praise for the Polish player. “You look at what she is doing for the women’s game right now and she’s dominating. She’s played absolutely brilliantly for the whole fortnight and she’s a really worthy champion,” said Henman. Evert added: “At the end of the day, Iga was the one who opened up the court better, she was the one that had less unforced errors, she was all business, very, very focused and she was the one that dominated every single point from the first shot on.” “I just think that’s experience, she had a game plan going out there, she talked to her coach I’m sure, talking about being proactive, being aggressive from the first shot, do not let Coco be letting run you around the court because that’s where she is at her best.
