Topics: Celebrity, Liam Payne, US News, News, Crime
The friend of the late Liam Payne who is suing the singer's father for defamation has spoken out.
Rogelio 'Roger' Nores has filed a lawsuit this week and is now seeking $10 million (£8.1 million) in damages from Payne's 66-year-old dad, Geoff.
Aged just 31, Payne sadly died last year after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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The music-maker had been in South America, attending the tour of his former bandmate Niall Horan.
Five individuals have since been changed over the father-of-one's death - including Nores, who was accused of manslaughter along with the hotel's manager Gilda Martin, and receptionist Esteban Grassi.
Today, however, Nores is himself pointing the finger at Payne's father Geoff, alleging that some of the statements the grieving dad made to an Argentinian prosecutor investigating his son's death were false and defamatory, and is seeking millions in damages.
"All the proceeds will be donated to my friend’s son [Bear Payne, who the singer shared with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole]," Nores told staff at Rolling Stone, who obtained the suit on Thursday (16 January).
"Geoff needs to backtrack on his [sworn] statement as he very well knows I wasn’t Liam’s nurse or caretaker."
In his filing, Nores accuses Geoff of having made false statements about him - including that he'd provided Payne with drugs.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office previously said in a statement that two other individuals, hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz, were charged with supplying cocaine.
Denying any involvement - adding that he was merely a friend to the troubled star - Nores went on to say: "Liam, who I miss every day, was my dear friend and an independent, brilliant, respectful free man who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted."
Additionally, the lawsuit states that although Geoff’s statements were made in another country, they were 'accessed by individuals in the Palm Beach County/Florida area' which caused harm there.
Nores claims he sent a defamation retraction letter to Geoff’s attorneys on earlier this month (8 January), but two days later (10 January), in a response included in the lawsuit, Liam’s estate refused to retract the statements and accused Nores of 'seeking to interfere with a police investigation by pressuring [Geoff] to change his evidence'.
They further stated they would 'bring his actions to the attention of the Argentine authorities'.
The response letter read: "The Estate could not take this matter more seriously, It has therefore taken the decision to support [Geoff] in this matter.
"[Geoff] denies, in the strongest possible terms, that he has defamed or otherwise caused any harm to your client (in the manner set out by your correspondence of 8 January 2025 or otherwise)."
