The plaintiff in the Conor McGregor lawsuit claiming injury to a thrown can during the August 2016 pre-fight press conference at UFC 202 was dealt a huge blow in discovery as the Court denied motions to compel financial information from McGregor and his deposition.
William Pegg claims he was injured as a result of McGregor throwing a can during the press conference altercation. A lawsuit was filed in Clark County Nevada but was moved to federal court in Las Vegas by McGregor’s attorneys. McGregor denies wrongdoing in the lawsuit.
Prior to removal to federal court, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel documents with the motion to be heard in state court on May 30, 2018. But, McGregor’s attorneys filed for removal on April 26, 2018.
Plaintiff’s attorney attempted to compel documents to determine McGregor’s ability to pay a potential claim as well as his deposition. This included his W-2s, tax returns and payouts from the UFC. McGregor’s attorney asserted that the financial information was confidential and not discoverable. He also offered McGregor to be deposed in Dublin, Ireland after his October 6th fight with Khabib Nurmogomedov in Las Vegas. Plaintiff’s attorney requested they depose McGregor in Las Vegas as it is known that he will be training there prior to his October 6th showdown with Khabib. However, Defendant did not offer this as an option. Discovery closes on October 23rd, so if they are unable to depose McGregor prior to then, he will not be deposed.
Motion to Compel Deposition of Conor McGregor by JASONCRUZ206 on Scribd
Defendant’s Response to Motion to Compel by JASONCRUZ206 on Scribd
Defendant’s Response to Motion to Compel Depo by JASONCRUZ206 on Scribd
Plaintiff included an example of how McGregor profited from this incident by embedding a screenshot of a “MacEmoji app” being sold which depicts him throwing cans.
The Court Order denying McGregor’s deposition notes that the Plaintiff failed to file a “Points and Authorities” section in its Motion which is a requisite in Court proceedings. Thus, as outlined by McGregor’s attorneys, the motion should be denied for this failure alone. The Court notes that Plaintiff’s motion failed to include any citations to legal authority. As a result, they have “consented to the denial of his motion…” For similar reasons, Plaintiff’s request for documents was denied for the same grounds.
Order on Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Depo of Conor McGregor by JASONCRUZ206 on Scribd
Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel by JASONCRUZ206 on Scribd
Payout Perspective:
Being a lawyer is hard. And aside from knowing the law, you must know the procedure. In this instance, the fatal defect for Plaintiff was an elementary knowledge of the rules. In its response to Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel the Deposition of Conor McGregor, his attorneys go after Plaintiff’s attorneys including requesting that they be sanctioned (fined) for not knowing the rules. They note that the form of a motion is “a basic premise to all first year law students…” Yet, Plaintiff did not do it. This almost certainly harms Plaintiff’s case and it’s clear that this is being characterized as a “nuisance” claim. In looking at this incident, it may have been helpful if the plaintiff would have gone after the UFC and/or the MGM as insurance may have kicked in. Instead, Plaintiff is facing an uphill legal battle.
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