Mayweather told to pay $114,000 in Pacquiao lawsuit
A federal judge ordered boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to pay about $114,000 for avoiding questioning from rival fighter Manny Pacquiao’s lawyers in a Las Vegas defamation case.
Attorneys for Pacquiao earlier lost a bid to end the lawsuit with a more severe sanction – a default judgment for Pacquiao.
But on Monday, they won more than $113,000 in legal fees and $774 in costs for what U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks bluntly called “Mayweather’s obviously intentional decision not to appear for his court ordered deposition.”
Pacquiao, a Filipino fighter against whom the undefeated Mayweather is frequently measured, has alleged that Mayweather defamed him by suggesting Pacquiao used performance-enhancing substances.
Pacquiao has denied the claim. He filed the lawsuit in Las Vegas in December 2009 and has sought unspecified damages.
Mayweather lawyers Mark Tratos and Laraine Burrell in Las Vegas and Pacquiao lawyers Daniel Petrocelli and David Marroso in Los Angeles didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to messages about the court order.