LAWYER Nick Khan, one of superstar Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s three managers, is being sued by Los Angeles businessman and boxing manager Frank Espinoza for allegedly putting a strain in the relationship between Espinoza and his boxer WBC/IBF super bantam champ Israel Vazquez.
The suit, which was filed yesterday at the Los Angeles County Superior court, stated: “At all times mentioned herein Defendant Nicholas Khan owed a fiduciary duty to Frank Espinoza to represent Frank Espinoza’s interests and not to represent opposing interests. Nicholas Khan, after being retained by Frank Espinoza, after being paid by Frank Espinoza, and after undertaking to do some work for Frank Espinoza, switched sides and started working on behalf of Israel Vazquez against Frank Espinoza. By way of example, attorney Nicholas Khan instituted a proceeding in the Nevada Athletic Commission to try to obtain an arbitration hearing to terminate the relationship between Israel Vazquez on the one hand and Frank Espinoza on the other.”
The Nevada commission took the arbitration off the calendar after it was found out that the Espinoza-Vazquez boxer-manager contract was filed in California, not in Nevada.
Khan had received 4.64 percent ($92,800) of Pacquiao’s $2 million purse for the Erik Morales rematch, according to an article penned by Thomas Hauser of Secondsout.com.
The suit will be heard in the sala of Judge Joseph Biderman, with the following causes of actions: breach of fiduciary duty, attorney malpractice, and interference with contractual relationship.
Khan will be summoned by the court and will be given 30 days to respond.
Khan has yet to react to the Inquirer report.
