McGregor sued by Chiesa over New York bus attack
Chiesa sues McGregor for causing him physical and psychological harm when McGregor hurled a metal dolly at the window of a bus at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn. Chiesa, who said he was pulled from UFC 223 after the incident, claims he has suffered financial damage as a result of the incident and it has affected his future earnings. The size of damages being sought has not been disclosed, although his lawyers say it “exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts”. The document lists claims for damages for negligence, assault, battery and “intentional infliction of emotional distress”. Chiesa’s lawyers say:
[he was] rendered sick, sore, lame and disabled; that he has experienced pain, suffering and a loss of enjoyment of life and will experience same in future.
McGregor pleads guilty, avoids jail
McGregor pleads guilty to disorderly conduct in a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail time from his assault on a bus in April 2018. McGregor had faced charges of included menacing, assault resulting in injury, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. As part of his deal he is required to undergo anger management treatment. McGregor was also required to pay full restitution to the bus company, which he has already fulfilled. The plea will not affect his US work visa.
I just want to say I’m thankful to the DA [District Attorney] and the judge for allowing me to move forward. I want to say to my friends, my family, my fans: thank you for the support.
McGregor, Cowley negotiating plea deal
McGregor and Cowley, who flew from Ireland on a private jet, appear in court for less than a minute regarding assault and criminal mischief charges stemming from a backstage melee in April. McGregor and Cowley’s team inform the court that they plan to negotiate a plea. The session is dismissed and the next hearing, where McGregor and Cowley’s team are expected to enter the actual plea, is announced for July 26. After the hearing a member of the legal team read a statement from McGregor:
I regret my actions that led me here today; I understand the seriousness of this matter and I’m hopeful it gets resolved soon. Thank you, everyone.
Released on bail
McGregor and Cowley appear in court, where they are charged with assault and criminal mischief. McGregor is released under $50,000 bail. He will be allowed to fly home to Ireland after the authorities decided not to seize his passport. He will return to New York on June 14 for his next court hearing, along with Cowley.
Led out of police station in handcuffs
McGregor is led out of Brooklyn’s 78th Precinct police station in handcuffs.
Charged with assault, criminal mischief
After turning himself in to police, McGregor is charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief following a rampage at a UFC press event in Brooklyn. Police:
He’s still in custody, still at the police precinct until he’s removed to court this morning.
Released from prison
Keys is released from the Satellite Prison Camp Atwater, in Atwater, California, after serving out most of his two-year sentence. He is living in a halfway house for two months as one of the conditions of his release.
Receives £350 speeding fine
McGregor is fined £350 for driving at 98mph in a 60mph zone. McGregor had initially been reprimanded by Judge Walsh for not appearing on time, the third time he had failed to show. Walsh:
I have to ask you the question… how much to you earn? Please don’t tell me you earn more than €110 million in a day?
McGregor:
€140 million…I got the fixed charge notice and attempted to pay it…It didn’t pay and that’s it.
Walsh:
That’s not it…I would warn, however, despite your fortune in life, that you take cognisance of other people on the roads.
McGregor is given the option to pay the fine in installments.
McGregor to fight Mayweather in 8-ounce gloves
The Nevada State Athletic Commission votes to allow the McGregor-Mayweather fight to take place using 8-ounce gloves — a first of its kind in boxing. McGregor believes the drop in glove size is to his advantage:
I am very pleased with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s handling of my next bout today. Fair play was kept all the way through. Referee – Hall of famer Robert Byrd. Judges – Burt Clements. Dave Morreti and Guido Cavalerri. 8oz gloves approved, with pre and post fight analysis of the gloves on the night. This was handled very well and very fairly by the NSAC. I am very pleased and respect the commissions ruling on this. Ten days until fight time.
Columbia settles with Nungesser
Columbia settles with Nungesser out of court for an unknown amount. Nungesser’s lawsuit contended the university had failed in its duty of care to protect him after the college investigation cleared him of the rape allegation. He stated that he faced discrimination because of Sulkowicz’s art project, and argued the university violated Title IX by allowing her to receive academic credit for a project that encouraged protest against a fellow student.
Columbia statement:
Paul Nungesser and Columbia University have agreed to settle the lawsuit he filed in 2015. While Paul was a student at Columbia, he was accused of sexual misconduct. In November 2013, after a diligent and thorough investigation, Paul was found not responsible for any misconduct. Columbia University stands by that finding. In 2015, Paul graduated from Columbia in good standing as a distinguished John Jay Scholar. John Jay Scholars, like Paul, are recognized for their remarkable academic and personal achievements, dynamism, intellectual curiosity, and original thinking. Paul is currently enrolled at an internationally recognized film school and has launched a career as a filmmaker. Columbia recognizes that after the conclusion of the investigation, Paul’s remaining time at Columbia became very difficult for him and not what Columbia would want any of its students to experience. Columbia will continue to review and update its policies toward ensuring that every student––accuser and accused, including those like Paul who are found not responsible––is treated respectfully and as a full member of the Columbia
community.
Nungesser lawyer:
We are very pleased with this settlement. Together with Paul and his parents, we have fought for three long years for a statement like the one Columbia released today. It gives Paul a chance to go on with his life and recover from the false accusation against him. We hope that the resolution of the case also ensures that no student will ever have to endure what Paul went through after he was exonerated.
Nungessers’s parents:
The scarlet letter that comes with an allegation of rape is virtually indelible, and that is why universities must take great care in their approach to these matters. This dark episode in Paul’s life will never fully disappear, but we are extremely happy that Paul can now fully focus on following his passion and talent as an aspiring filmmaker.
Mayweather asks for installment plan over 2015 unpaid taxes
Mayweather petitions the U.S. Tax Court for an installment agreement to pay taxes from 2015, citing his fight with Conor McGregor as a “significant liquidity event” from which he intends to pay the remaining balance. Mayweather argues he’s too illiquid to immediately pay the taxes while the IRS has said that some of his assets could be converted into cash or that Mayweather could take out a loan to pay what he owes. Mayweather reportedly earned $220-230 million for defeating Manny Pacquiao in 2015. After he fights McGregor, Mayweather will have to pay taxes on a possible $400 million in earnings as well as cover his past IRS debts.
9th Circuit: Keys’ guilty verdict and sentence to stand
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rules (ruling) that it was not persuaded by arguments made by Keys’ defense attorney, saying that the damage went beyond the mere alteration, as Keys created new accounts, and there was a fervent effort to contain the defacement. Court:
Prior to Keys’s conduct, the CMS existed in a certain state of security. Keys made the CMS far weaker by taking and creating new user accounts. This manipulation of user accounts and login credentials (not Keys’s access) impaired the system.
Keys:
I am extremely disappointed in their decision. Until I have a chance to review their opinion, I will have no further comment.
Diaz sued for $1 million by former agent over McGregor rematch profits
The Ballenge Group, Diaz’s former managers, files a $1 million suit in District Court in Dallas, claiming they had worked with the fighter since 2014 on several big fights including Rafael Dos Anjos, Michael Johnson and the first McGregor fight at UFC 196. Ballengee claims that in July 2016 — after sealing the deal for Nate to fight Conor at UFC 202 in August — that Nate “unexpectedly” fired them and did not pay them their cut for the UFC 202 fight, which was reportedly the biggest UFC pay-per-view ever at the time. Ballenge lawyer:
My clients performed their job, what Nate Diaz asked them to do. They are due for that. The lawsuit alleges that Diaz and [his attorney] Sam Awad conspired to get Leslie Smith to also fire Ballengee and to not pay Ballengee. Awad, as the mastermind of the conspiracy, he and Nate left, then talked Smith into doing the same thing.
Diaz has made no comment on the suit.
War Machine sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, sexual assault
A Nevada judge sentences former MMA fighter War Machine (formerly Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver) to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years after he is convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting Mack, his porn star ex-girlfriend. The earliest that he can be released from prison will be at 71 years old. The August 2014 assault began when War Machine burst into a bedroom and found Mack in bed with another man. After letting him go he beat her, leaving her with a broken nose, missing teeth, fractured eye socket, leg injuries and a lacerated liver. Mack claimed that she escaped when she thought Koppenhaver was in the kitchen fetching a knife to finish her off. She ran naked and bleeding to neighbors’ homes. In a statement, the ex-MMA fighter blames anxiety, depression and self pity for his problems:
should have killed myself by now. There’s no reason right now that I shouldn’t be in the dirt right now laying next to Aaron Hernandez. That’s 100 percent true…Not a day goes by that I don’t seriously regret all those things that I did. I was a very, very lost, very empty person. And to top it off, something’s not right with my head. Plain and simple. I’ve known that a long time and I’ve hated it. I’ve hated the way that I think. I’ve hated my impulses. Half the time, I don’t know why I do some the things I do. And some of the times I do things and I don’t even feel like I did them until it’s already done. Smashing my face [into a mirror] was like a sick form of therapy. It was the only thing I could do to prevent myself from killing myself.
Mack says she still fears for her life if Koppenhaver were to leave prison.
I do know when he gets out, he will kill me.
Eminem lawsuit against New Zealand political party begins
A New Zealand court hears opening arguments in a copyright trial taken by Eminem’s music publishers against the National Party, the county’s largest political party. A judge and nine lawyers listen to Lose Yourself, the track that the publishers claim was used on a 2014 political ad without permission. The party has previously said it purchased the track through an Australian-based supplier and doesn’t believe it has infringed anyone’s copyright. Eminem’s lawyers tell the court that the National Party had wanted a song that was edgy and modern but showed the party was dependable, and quoted from National Party emails, which described the song as an Eminem “sound-alike,” and said:
I guess the question we’re asking, if everyone thinks it’s Eminem, and it’s listed as Eminem Esque, how can we be confident that Eminem doesn’t say we’re ripping him off?
Eminem’s lawyers say that the artist does not allow his music to be used for political purposes of any kind. The trial is expected to last six days.
Diaz water-bottle incident penalty reduced
Diaz’s penalty for the water bottle throwing incident with McGregor during the UFC 202 press conference is reduced from $50,000 and 50 hours of community service, to $15,000 and 15 hours of community service. As Diaz has already paid the fine he will get a refund of $35,000.
Nungesser’s suit dissmissed
In a 46-page opinion, Judge Woods dismisses Nungesser’s second lawsuit alleging that the university violated his Title IX rights and two state laws in its handling of Sulkowicz’s mattress-toting campaign to have him expelled from campus. The case is dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning Nungesser is prohibited from filing a third suit on the same claims. Nungesser’s suit said Sulkowicz “enabled reporters to stalk [him], defamed him as a ‘serial rapist,’ and her campaign resulted in public intimidation, isolation on campus and receipt of threats against him.” He described himself “male victim of gender-based harassment” at a federally funded university that did nothing to intervene, a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. Woods argued that there was no proof Sulkowicz’s actions were “motivated by gender” or that she deployed the term “serial rapist” as a gendered slur. As to his claim that harassment deprived him of educational opportunities at Columbia, Woods recognized that Nungesser’s “senior year at Columbia was neither pleasant nor easy,” but said the plaintiff’s case failed to meet the high bar set by Title IX for evidence. Nungesser’s lawyer:
We have carefully reviewed Judge Woods’ decision, and believe it to be erroneous in a number of critical areas. From the outset of this case, Judge Woods has been dead set against Paul Nungesser, which is further evidenced by his flawed reasoning in finding that the 101 page, extraordinarily detailed, Second Amended Complaint contains no viable causes of action. We are confident that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will reinstate the case.
$150,000 bottle-throwing fine reduced to $25,000
At a hearing in Las Vegas McGregor’s punishment for the water-bottle throwing incident before UFC 202 is reduced from $150,000 and 50 hours community service to $25,000 and 25 hours of community service, the same terms suggested by the Nevada attorney general’s office ahead of the initial hearing in October 2016. McGregor has six months to complete the community service and can do so in either Dublin or Las Vegas. The board’s chairman suggests that Nate Diaz, who was fined $50,000 and given 50 hours of community service for his part in the incident, should be reheard. NSAC executive director Bennett:
I just didn’t think [the original $150,000 fine] was fair.
Beyonce sued for $20 million by Messy Mya estate
The estate of late Messy Mya sues Beyonce for copyright infringement and other counts, seeking $20 million for damages over claims that she improperly used Mya’s voice in her song Formation. According to the suit, Formation misappropriated the lyrics “What happened at the New Orleans” and “Bitch, I’m back by popular demand” from Barre’s 2010 work Booking the Hoes From New Wildings. The suit also claims that the line “Oh yeah baby. I like that” from his A 27-Piece Huh? was wrongfully lifted. The lawsuit reads:
Defendants used Mr. Barre’s voice, performance and words from his copyrighted works to create the tone, mood, setting and location of the New Orleans-themed Formation.
Receives one-year ban for doping violation
Russell is banned from cricket for one year following a doping whereabouts rule violation. Russell appears to be in tears when the decision is handed down. The ban starts from January 31, 2017 to January 30, 2018 meaning the star all rounder will be unavailable for the Thunder next summer, leaving a hole in the BBL|05 champions’ roster. Russell’s attorney:
Relieved it’s one year, but not two years. But I genuinely thought given the circumstances and the evidence that was before the panel that he would have been exonerated. Haven’t made a decision [about an appeal] as yet. We have considered it but we wouldn’t really consider that seriously until we have had a chance to speak with the client and look at the (written) decision