Ronda Rousey has agreed to change a portion of her autobiography to avoid a potential defamation lawsuit from former manager Darin Harvey.
Rousey’s autobiography which was released last year included a section which describes Harvey. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion agreed to change the section for the second release when it comes out in paperback, ebook and audiobook.
The two parties settled their lawsuit in February. After a California State Athletic Commission ruled in Rousey’s favor with respect that her contract with Harvey was not valid, a lawsuit filed by Harvey in Los Angeles Superior Court remained. The court had ordered the case to go to arbitration. Yet, this new wrinkle appears to tie up loose ends.
Or does it. According to MMA Junkie, Havey claims that comments made by Rousey’s attorney in the LA lawsuit about the changes in the book were in violation of the confidential settlement agreement.
Payout Perspective:
Just because Rousey and her publishing company are changing a portion of the book, it does not mean that what Rousey wrote about Harvey would be defamation. However, the prolonged litigation would have been a drag on Rousey and affect the book sales as well as a potential movie on the autobiography which is a possibility. You might recall that Rousey recently signed a deal with the Lifetime Network. For Harvey, it gives him piece of mind about his past business relationship. Of course the new wrinkle is the comments made by Rousey’s attorney in the LA lawsuit. He was not the party representing her in the potential defamation matter and Harvey’s comments make it seem like this might not be over. Violating a confidential settlement agreement has its penalties which would be included in the agreement. It would be hard to speculate on what the parties agreed to but they usually involve monetary penalties or a voiding of the agreement. Of course, a party to the agreement would have to prove that the terms were violated.
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