Cristiano Ronaldo can breathe a sigh of relief after 14 years after the latest ruling in his legal battle with Kathryn Mayorga. The legal team of the former model recently filed an appeal to reopen the 2018 case for the 2009 Las Vegas incident.
Leslie Mark Stovall, the attorney of Kathryn Mayorga, argued for reopening the case in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 2018 case, which was dismissed in 2022, accused Cristiano Ronaldo of r*pe for an incident in Las Vegas in 2009.
In the latest ruling, the Court of Appeals has dismissed the appeal of Stovall. Judge Johnnie Rawlinson wrote in her opinion: “The district court clearly recognized the gravity of dismissing the case and accordingly provided a thorough analysis, amply supported by factual findings.” The three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based court ruled in favor of Ronaldo, ending the 14-year saga.
🚨The court officially rules in favor of Cristiano Ronaldo in the alleged case against him by Kathryn Mayorga
The initial ruling was in favor of Ronaldo, and after the appeal was filed by Mayorga, the ruling came out again in favor of Ronaldo. [@maisfutebol]
Cristiano comes out… pic.twitter.com/Jbt7NJoDOf
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 21, 2023
Kathryn Mayorga received around $335,000 in hush money from Ronaldo in 2010 and signed a confidentiality agreement for the payments. The 2023 appeal from Stovall argued that the documents should be unsealed and included as evidence against the charges. The aim was to claim more money from Ronaldo for the incident. As per some reports, the new claims were around $25 million.
Kathryn Mayorga and Cristiano Ronaldo met in Las Vegas in 2009. Ronaldo was on a holiday with his brother-in-law and cousin in Las Vegas. Mayorga was working in a nightclub inside the Palms Casino Resort where he met Ronaldo. She later alleged that the Portuguese soccer player r*ped her in a Las Vegas hotel room. She also claimed she suffered clinical depression and traumatic stress following the incident.
Leslie Mark Stovall fined for the appeal against Cristiano Ronaldo
Stovall’s appeal backfired on him as the judges of the Court of Appeals fined $335,000 fined him for his conduct in the proceedings. He argued that US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey was in the wrong for rejecting Mayorga’s request to include the unsealed documents in the case proceeding back in 2018.
Back in 2022, during the dismal of this case, Judge Jennifer Dorsey sanctioned Stovall for bad faith by trying to use the confidential documents that were leaked in 2017 in a cyberattack. The documents leaked in the cyberattack were related to the Kathryn Mayorga incident.
A U.S. judge dismissed Kathryn Mayorga’s lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo accusing him of sexual assault.
The judge said Mayorga’s lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, acted in “bad faith” by using stolen and leaked documents as part of the lawsuit. Full story: https://t.co/yUR9G4KMrP pic.twitter.com/8PyjSgW4nI
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 11, 2022
The fine on Stovall is unusual as compared to other similar proceedings. However, it is noteworthy that Stovall’s conduct has been unprofessional throughout this saga which argues in favor of the fine.
It is unlikely that the matter will be reopened anytime soon unless there is some major update in the proceedings. Stovall and Mayorga are yet to comment on the ruling. On the other end, Cristiano Ronaldo can finally rest easy by putting this legal battle behind him.