Judge dismisses Ronaldo rape lawsuit in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS » A Nevada woman has lost her bid in a U.S. court to force international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars more than the $375,000 in hush money she received after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in Las Vegas kicked the case out of court on Friday to punish the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for “bad-faith conduct” and the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing attorney-client discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers. Dorsey said that tainted the case beyond redemption.
Dorsey said in her 42-page order that dismissing a case outright with no option to file it again is a severe sanction, but said Ronaldo had been harmed by Stovall’s conduct.
“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 (plaintiff Kathryn) Mayorga’s claims,” the ruling said. “Harsh sanctions are merited.”
Stovall did not immediately respond Saturday to telephone and email messages. The decision coyle be appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Kyrgios says he faced racist abuse from crowd in loss
STUTTGART, GERMANY » Nick Kyrgios said he faced racist abuse from the crowd during a semifinal loss to Andy Murray at the Stuttgart Open.
The Australian posted on Instagram following the 7-6 (5), 6-2 loss to Murray that he had heard abusive comments from the stands.
“When is this going to stop? Dealing with racial slurs from the crowd?” he wrote on Instagram. “I understand that my behavior isn’t the best all the time — but ‘you little black sheep’ ‘shut up and play’ little comments like this are not acceptable. When I retaliate to the crowd I get penalised. This is messed up.”
Kyrgios was given a point penalty for breaking his racket at the end of the first-set tiebreaker, and then a game penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second set after he approached the crowd and appeared to ask: “What did you say?” Kyrgios then sat down and did not continue the match until he had spoken with the tournament supervisor.
Murray will play his first grass-court singles final since winning Wimbledon in 2016 when he plays second-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s final. Berrettini prevailed 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) over Oscar Otte.