A federal judge dismissed a Nevada woman's rape lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo over 'bad-faith conduct' by her lawyer
- A federal judge in Nevada dismissed a lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo alleging rape.
- The suit was thrown out due to "bad-faith conduct" by the accuser's lawyer, the judge wrote in her order.
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit a Nevada woman filed against international soccer athlete Cristiano Ronaldo, citing "bad-faith conduct" by the accuser's lawyer, according to court documents.
In an order on Friday, US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey threw out the civil case between Ronaldo and former model Kathryn Mayorga. Dorsey condemned Mayorga's attorney, Leslie Stovall, for the "repeated use of stolen, privileged documents to prosecute this case."
"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 Mayorga's claims," US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey wrote in her order on June 10.
Dorsey also dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning Mayorga cannot refile her claims in the same court.
Stovall's law firm did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
As Insider previously reported, Mayorga accused Ronaldo of rape after they met at a nightclub in 2009 and later returned to his hotel. Ronaldo's defense team responded by saying the 2009 sexual encounter was consensual.
Mayorga initially filed her civil lawsuit in a Nevada court in 2018 — which was then bumped to federal court the next year — alleging that Ronaldo violated a confidentiality agreement by leaking documents to a German news publication.
Prior to the lawsuit, Rolando agreed to pay Mayorga $375,000 to keep quiet about the situation. The case was reopened after Mayorga's lawsuit, but prosecutors declined to criminally charge Ronaldo, citing a lack of evidence.