US appellate court dismisses lawsuit against Pacquiao

MANILA—A multi-million dollar lawsuit filed against Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao by Texas-based Imperial ED Promotions has been dismissed by the United States Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit.
According to press release posted by www.philboxing.com, the US Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit, one of the highest and most influential courts in the US, affirmed last Dec. 18 the dismissal of the case due to “falsely backdated” document.
Imperial ED filed the lawsuit in November 2010, claiming that Pacquiao failed to appear at a promotional event in September 2010.

However, the promotional company “didn’t tell the court that they failed to pay the Filipino star the full appearance fee that had been negotiated,” according to the report.
In July 2012, Pacquiao’s counsel, led by David Marroso a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, questioned whether Imperial ED was the right party to bring the claim since the appearance contract had been signed by a different person.
Imperial ED responded with a highly suspicious document that supposedly transferred ownership of the contract.
This prompted Marroso and his team to question the document and were granted the right to question Imperial ED’s principals under oath and to have one of the world’s foremost ink dating experts examine the document.
”After reviewing the evidence, federal judge Ricardo Hinojosa agreed with Pacquiao, found that the document had been falsely backdated, and threw out the case,” the report said.
On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, putting an end to the three-year legal saga.
“As Manny’s popularity increased, he has become a target,” observed Marroso. “People file meritless lawsuits against Manny hoping cash in on his success.”
Pacquiao hopes the Court’s decision will cause future plaintiffs to pause before filing frivolous lawsuits and trying to cheat the system, according to Marroso.
Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz added that “Manny took a stand in this case and vowed to fight until his name was cleared.”
Pacquiao was coming off a lopsided victory against Brandon Rios last November 23, ending his two straight defeats to American Timothy Bradley and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.
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