A waiter who alleges he’s owed $8.6 million for his role in arranging Manny Pacquiao’s 2015 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. will have to defend himself against fraud and possible punitive damages in a lawsuit brought by a Beverly Hills businessman, a judge ruled.
Richard “Richie” Palmer maintains he deserves half of $10,000 in compensation Gabriel Rueda previously received related to the set-up of the boxing match, as well as half of any compensation Rueda may receive if he wins his own case case against CBS and other parties.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Murphy had already ruled Wednesday that jury should decide the contractual issues in Palmer’s lawsuit, but he took under submission Palmer’s cause of action against Rueda for alleged false promise, a form of fraud that entitles plaintiffs to seek punitive damages.
Murphy then ruled later Wednesday that Rueda will have to face trial on all of Palmer’s causes of action.
In addition to the part of the case that will be decided by a jury, Palmer, who founded the Mulberry Street Pizzeria chain and was once married to actress Raquel Welch, wants a court to find that he is entitled to 50 percent of what Rueda may obtain through any judgment in the server’s own case, including an equal split of $10,000 he says Rueda already received as reimbursement for a ticket to the fight and a hotel stay.
In his suit filed in October 2016, Palmer maintains that Rueda called him in May 2014 and promised he would give him a split of his finder’s fee if Palmer could convince Freddie Roach, then Pacquiao’s trainer, to meet with CBS President Leslie Moonves regarding a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.
Palmer says he arranged a get-together between Roach and Moonves later that month at the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills. Palmer notes that Rueda then filed his lawsuit against Pacquiao, Roach and others without including him. His lawyers maintain that is evidence Rueda intended to exclude Palmer from his alleged share of the finder’s fee.
Rueda’s lawyer, Amman Khan, told the judge Wednesday that Rueda did not conceal anything from Palmer.
In his still-pending lawsuit, part of which is on appeal, Rueda alleges extortion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of an oral contract, fraud and unjust enrichment. In addition to Pacquiao and Roach, Rueda’ complaint names CBS, Showtime Entertainment and former Stormy Daniels attorney Keith Davidson, described in the plaintiff’s court papers as a lawyer for “Roach, Pacquiao and a few other powerful people.”
Rueda’s suit states that he served Moonves while working at Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood and told the television executive that he could introduce him to Roach in order to break the ice between Al Haymon and Bob Arum, the promoters for Mayweather and Pacquiao, respectively.
The lawsuit states that Rueda arranged a meeting between Roach and Moonves, with an agreement that he would get a 2 percent finder’s fee of gross fight proceeds paid to CBS, Showtime Network, Pacquiao and Roach.
Pacquiao, hobbled by a shoulder injury, lost to Mayweather by unanimous decision when the two fought on May 2, 2015.