Court says Ronaldo rape lawsuit in Vegas should be dismissed

By Ken Ritter | Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — A national magistrate justice successful Nevada has sided with Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers against a pistillate who sued for much than the $375,000 successful hush wealth she received successful 2010 aft saying the planetary shot prima raped her successful Las Vegas.

In a scathing proposal to the justice proceeding the case, Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts connected Wednesday blamed Kathryn Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for inappropriately basing the civilian damages suit connected leaked and stolen documents shown to beryllium privileged communications betwixt Ronaldo and his lawyers.

“Dismissing Mayorga’s lawsuit for the inappropriate behaviour of her lawyer is simply a harsh result,” the magistrate wrote successful his 23-page study to U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey. “But it is, unfortunately, the lone due authorisation to guarantee the integrity of the judicial process.”

“Stovall has acted successful atrocious religion to his client’s — and his profession’s — detriment,” Albregts decided.

Stovall and different attorneys successful his bureau did not instantly respond Thursday to telephone and email messages astir Albregt’s report.

A day for Dorsey to instrumentality up the proposal was not instantly set.

Ronaldo’s lawyer successful Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, issued a connection calling Ronaldo’s ineligible squad “pleased with the court’s elaborate reappraisal … and its willingness to justly use the instrumentality to the facts and urge dismissal of the civilian lawsuit against Mr. Ronaldo.”

The Associated Press mostly does not sanction radical who accidental they are victims of intersexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent done Stovall and lawyer Larissa Drohobyczer to marque her sanction public.

Albregts noted the tribunal did not find that Ronaldo committed a transgression and recovered nary grounds his attorneys and representatives “intimidated Mayorga oregon impeded instrumentality enforcement” erstwhile Mayorga dropped transgression charges and finalized the $375,000 confidential colony successful August 2010.

Ronaldo, present 36, is 1 of the astir recognizable and highly paid players successful sports. He has captained his location state shot team, Portugal, and plays for the English Premier League nine Manchester United. He spent respective years playing successful Italy for the Turin-based nine Juventus.

Mayorga, 37, is simply a erstwhile teacher and exemplary who lives successful the Las Vegas area. She said successful her suit filed archetypal successful authorities tribunal and moved to national tribunal that Ronaldo oregon his associates violated the confidentiality statement by allowing reports astir it to look successful European publications successful 2017. She seeks to cod astatine slightest $200,000 much from Ronaldo.

She met Ronaldo astatine a nightclub successful June 2009 and went with him and different radical to his edifice suite, wherever she said helium assaulted her successful a bedroom, according to the lawsuit. She was 25 astatine the time. He was 24.

Ronaldo’s attorneys person acknowledged the shot prima and Mayorga had sex, but said it consensual and not rape.

Mayorga went to Las Vegas police, but the probe was dropped astatine the clip due to the fact that Mayorga neither identified her alleged attacker by sanction nor said wherever the incidental took place, Steve Wolfson, the elected authoritative successful Las Vegas, said successful 2019.

Wolfson decided not to record transgression charges based connected a caller probe by Las Vegas constabulary successful 2018 due to the fact that helium said excessively overmuch clip had passed and grounds failed to amusement that Mayorga’s accusation could beryllium proven astatine proceedings beyond a tenable doubt.

Word of the fiscal colony became nationalist aft the German quality outlet Der Spiegel published an nonfiction successful 2017 titled “Cristiano Ronaldo’s Secret” based connected documents obtained from “whistleblower portal Football Leaks.”

“The nonfiction makes it wide that these documents included privileged communications … betwixt Ronaldo’s European and U.S. attorneys astir the settlement,” Albregts wrote.

Stovall “acted successful atrocious religion by asking for, receiving, and utilizing the Football Leaks documents to prosecute Mayorga’s case,” the magistrate justice found.

“Although Stovall ne'er received — oregon adjacent sought — an morals sentiment … helium had aggregate opportunities to admit the privileged quality of the documents, starting with the 2017 Der Spiegel article, which quotes privileged communications.”

Albregts rejected Stovall’s statement that utilizing the documents was justified due to the fact that Stovall wasn’t the 1 who stole them and helium couldn’t beryllium they were stolen.

The attorney’s efforts to marque confidential documents nationalist done tribunal filings were “audacious,” “impertinent” and “abusive,” the magistrate said.

Albregts recommended Dorsey besides disregard Stovall’s assertion that due to the fact that Mayorga had learning disabilities arsenic a kid and was pressured by Ronaldo’s representatives she lacked the intelligence capableness to motion the 2010 confidentiality agreement.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals successful San Francisco ruled aboriginal this twelvemonth that it would beryllium up to Dorsey to determine that question.

“Mayorga’s lawsuit against Ronaldo would astir apt not beryllium had Stovall not asked for the Football Leaks documents,” Albregts wrote, and Mayorga’s cognition of the documents’ contents “cannot beryllium undone.”

“There is nary imaginable mode for this lawsuit to proceed wherever the tribunal cannot archer what arguments and grounds are based connected these privileged documents,” helium said.