Roger Nores, a friend of late One Direction star Liam Payne, is suing the late singer’s father, Geoff Payne, for defamation, according to a lawsuit filed in Florida on Jan. 15 and obtained by ABC Audio.
Following Liam’s death in October 2024 after falling from his hotel room balcony in Argentina, Nores was initially charged in that country with “abandonment followed by death” — a charge that was reduced to “wrongful death due to imprudence and negligence.”
Nores claims that those charges were based on Geoff’s “sworn declaration,” which he says is false, that Liam was in Nores’ care prior to his death. As a result, he says that Geoff’s statement caused him and his reputation “extensive damages.”
The lawsuit claims that Geoff told prosecutors in Argentina that Nores had “full responsibility” for Liam’s care and that the elder Payne was only able to communicate with his son through Nores or Liam’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. Nores denies this and insists that he didn’t have “a legal duty” to Liam, nor did he agree to be the singer’s “caretaker.”
As evidence of this, Nores points to an email he sent to Geoff in August declining to be in charge of Liam. He also says that Liam talked to his family directly via his laptop.
“Liam was an independent person, an adult who had control over all his personal, financial, and professional decisions and made those decisions independently,” the lawsuit states.
Nores filed the lawsuit after demanding a retraction from Geoff in early January. But in a letter included in the lawsuit, Liam’s estate declined to do so and accused Nores of “interfering with a police investigation.”
Two hotel workers were also charged in Liam’s death, as were others who allegedly sold drugs to Liam.
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