LAS VEGAS (CN) - Undefeated professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. claims he did not defame Atlanta Sports & Entertainment Marketing when he sued the company for allegedly registering a domain for an official fan club without his permission.
The defendant challenged the underlying reason for registering the domain floydmayweather.net, claiming Mayweather's former business associate had, in fact, hired ASEM to create a fan site. It threatened to sue Mayweather for defamation after gossip site TMZ.com reported the cybersquatting lawsuit, Mayweather claims.
Mayweather dropped his cybersquatting suit against ASEM, but claims the company tried to extort him into paying money - first demanding $1 million, which it later lowered to $750,000 - to avoid the defamation suit.
Mayweather claims that any statements made in the course of previous litigation are "absolutely privileged and thus not actionable."
He also says his cybersquatting lawsuit was brought in good faith, because he did not realize that his associate, who has since been fired, was making deals behind his back.
The professional athlete, along with Pretty Boy Entertainment and agent Leonard Ellerbe, are represented by Greenberg Traurig LLP.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
