Cristiano Ronaldo Moves To Keep Rape Lawsuit Out Of Public Eye
Cristiano Ronaldo is demanding the lawsuit accusing him of rape not be battled in public.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the soccer star has gone to court to plead his case.
Ronaldo is being accused of rape by a woman named Kathryn Mayorga. In her lawsuit, she claims to have met Ronaldo in a Las Vegas club.
He allegedly brought her back to his penthouse hotel room and forcibly raped her. She reported the assault to the police but never named the soccer star.
Ronaldo reached a $375,000 confidential settlement with Mayorga. She breached the deal in 2018, when she filed a civil lawsuit against him.
She claimed to have been bullied into the settlement. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Ronaldo has denied all allegations of rape or assault.
In newly filed court documents, Ronaldo is asking a judge to move the case to arbitration. He says the settlement agreement has a provision, which states any issues between the parties will be heard by an arbitrator. Arbitration is a way to handle disputes in a private court.
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Ronaldo says, “Plaintiff’s purported incapacity is a contractual defense that should be determined by the arbitrator. Nevertheless, Plaintiff cannot demonstrate she lacked legal capacity to contract. Plaintiff brought the instant lawsuit in her individual capacity. Plaintiff does not even allege, much less offer any evidentiary support to indicate that a guardian or conservator has been appointed (at any point during the last decade) to safeguard Plaintiff in her personal, financial or legal affairs."
He says, "Yet Plaintiff would have this Court believe that for more than a decade since the assault in June 2009, she has lacked legal capacity.”
Further, “Here, Plaintiff has failed to establish she lacked “capacity” to contract under Nevada law. Tellingly, the only therapist to actually see Plaintiff during 2009 and 2010, declines to offer any opinion as to Plaintiff’s competence or legal capacity to enter into the SCA, stating, “I do not believe I am an expert in determining whether someone is legally capable of entering into an agreement such as the settlement that Ms. Mayorga signed.”
He adds, “Plaintiff undisputedly obtained counsel within just a couple of months of the alleged June 2009 incident and she concedes she was represented by her prior attorney throughout the settlement negotiations and mediation.
Ronaldo finishes, “By Plaintiff’s account and that of her therapist, she was also being treated by a psychologist during the relevant timeframe. If any party has information directly relevant to Plaintiff’s legal capacity in 2009 and 2010, it is not Defendant, his lawyers or agents. Rather, this information lies with the Plaintiff, her counsel and therapist, who tellingly refuses even today to opine that Plaintiff was not competent to contract.”
He is demanding the case be heard outside the public eye. A judge has yet to rule.
