McGregor’s Legal Team Steps In to Address US Sexual Assault Lawsuit

DOWNLOAD IPFS

Conor McGregor will no longer be pursued by summons servers after his lawyer agreed to formally respond to a civil lawsuit in the United States. The suit alleges the Irish fighter sexually assaulted a woman during an NBA Finals game in Miami last summer.

The unnamed plaintiff, referred to as “Jane Doe” in legal filings, claims McGregor assaulted her inside a men’s restroom at the Kaseya Center in Florida between June 9 and 10, 2023. The lawsuit accuses the 37-year-old of violently forcing her into a stall, slamming her head against a partition, and attempting to perform oral and anal sex on her without consent. The woman described McGregor as “intoxicated” and claimed the assault was done for his “own sexual gratification” and to “degrade” her.

Since January, her lawyer, James Dunn, had tried to serve the Florida-issued summons in Ireland through the Central Office of the High Court. But after months of effort, McGregor’s U.S.-based attorney, Barbara Llanes, filed a notice waiving the formal service of summons. This means she now has 90 days to either respond to the lawsuit or file a motion on McGregor’s behalf.

Ongoing Legal Pressure

The criminal side of the case appears to be closed for now. The alleged assault was reported to the Miami Police Department on June 11, 2023, but by October, the Florida State Attorney’s Office declined to press charges. According to McGregor’s defense, authorities reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed eyewitnesses, and ultimately decided there wasn’t enough evidence to move forward with a criminal case.

McGregor’s legal team has repeatedly dismissed the civil case as meritless. Llanes told the Irish Independent that “these civil claims, which the plaintiff has cycled through numerous lawyers, remain as baseless as ever.” She added that McGregor’s account has been consistent and backed by the official investigation results.

But this is not the only legal battle McGregor is facing. In Ireland, he was previously found liable in a civil case brought by Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. The jury ruled in Hand’s favor last year, awarding her nearly €250,000 (roughly $270,000) in damages. McGregor denied the claim, but the jury answered “yes” to the question of whether he assaulted her.

Recently, McGregor withdrew an application to submit new evidence in his appeal of that case. The evidence involved testimony from a couple who were Ms. Hand’s former neighbors and claimed to have witnessed a heated altercation between her and another man. The Court of Appeal has now referred McGregor’s decision to withdraw that evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for review.

As both lawsuits play out in different countries, McGregor remains under intense public and legal scrutiny. His attorneys continue to maintain his innocence, but the courtroom developments suggest this legal saga is far from over.