ALREADY BEATEN MURAD GETS BEAT ON SOME MORE!
Millbrae, CA-This week, Manny Pacquiao’s former agent, Sydney Hall, and former manager, Marty Elorde, settled a lawsuit against Pacquiao’s ex-promoter, Murad Muhammad, avoiding a forthcoming trial. The lawsuit dates back to November of 2003, when Hall claimed Muhammad, and then business manager Rod Nazario were shortchanging him. As his agent, Hall was entitled to about 7% of Pacquiao’s gross purse. In early 2005, Hall attempted to have Manny Pacquiao and Marty Elorde join him as plaintiffs against Muhammad, Nazario, and his son Boying. Elorde agreed to be a plaintiff, but Pacquiao, who had already hired council to sue Muhammad, was not added.
PACQUIAO AND MUHAMMAD SETTLE IN NEW YORK
In June 2005, Pacquiao’s attorneys—Judd Burstein, Keith Davidson, and Nick Kahn—filed a lawsuit against Muhammad in New York Federal Court, claiming violations in the Muhammad Ali Boxing Act. Both parties actually went to trail, but before a jury could decide the victor, both parties agreed to a settlement. In the settlement, Pacquiao was freed from his promotional contract, and Muhammad paid an undisclosed amount to the three-time champion.
HALL CONTINUES HIS LAWSUIT; ADDS PACQUIAO
Before the New York trial, an attempt by Pacquiao to settle with Hall failed, which forced Hall to add Pacquiao as a defendant in his California case. Pacquiao was responsible for paying Hall; therefore Hall had no choice but to add Pacquiao as a defendant. This made the lawsuit Sydney Hall and Marty Elorde as plaintiffs and Murad Muhammad, Rod Nazario, Boying Nazario, and Manny Pacquiao as defendants. This past February, Hall and Pacquiao were able to settle, and Pacquiao was dropped from Hall’s lawsuit.
MURAD APOLOGIZES
The week before the hearings would begin in San Mateo County District Court in Redwood City, California, Muhammad’s attorneys approached Hall and Elorde’s attorney, John Burris, in hopes of a settlement. Murad, whose legal fees amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars, agreed to pay Elorde and Hall an amount proportional to his current financial status. Therefore, Muhammad has been dropped from the lawsuit. According to Hall, after the settlement, Murad apologized to Elorde and himself. Hall also explained that he was satisfied with the amount, understanding Muhammad’s current financial situation.
HEARING SET FOR DAMAGES AGAINST NAZARIO
Rod Nazario is still a party to the lawsuit and a hearing is set to rule on the damages due Hall and Elorde, by Nazario. Nazario’s son, Boying (himself also suffering from huge legal fees), agreed to cooperate with Hall and Elorde. Therefore he was dropped from the lawsuit as well. Numerous pre-trial hearings occurred over the past year, but Nazario has not attended any of them. The likely result will be a summary judgment and a dollar amount that is due Elorde and Hall.
Jason Aniel
