A Clark County District Court Judge dismissed a lawsuit against Zuffa and Dana White on Monday which accused them of breaching an agreement to mediate a dispute over an affair White had with the girlfriend of a Nevada man.
Ernesto Joshua Ramos filed the lawsuit this past spring alleging that White breached an agreement with him to pay him an undisclosed sum in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement and pleading guilty to an extortion charge related to his contact with White.
The Ramos criminal complaint is below.
Criminal Complaint by MMA Payout
For more on the case see here and here.
Opposition to Motion to Dis… by MMA Payout
Ramos served a year in prison for his crime. White had contacted the U.S. Attorney when he was first contacted by Ramos. According to the lawsuit, Ramos’ girlfriend had sexual relations with White while working at the Spearmint Rhino. She was also a guest of White at a UFC event in Brazil.
The lawsuit claimed that there was an agreement between Ramos and White and/or the UFC that he would plead guilty to a charge of extortion in exchange to be compensated for his silence. However, at a proposed mediation, White did not offer Ramos a suitable amount of money to him.
Zuffa and White filed for motion to dismiss Ramos’ lawsuit. Although there was no written opinion as of yet, the moving papers argued that there was no contract between the parties.
Payout Perspective:
This lawsuit may not be over as plaintiff’s attorney has indicated that they will appeal the decision. It was clear that the UFC and White were not happy with this lawsuit and the motion to dismiss was going to happen. The complaint presented a unique cause of action against White and the UFC. For every contract there must be a ‘meeting of the minds.’ The court likely believed that there was no contract because there was not a mutually agreed ‘meeting of the minds’ as to the mediation that was planned between the two. Moreover, its skeptical that this would be considered a breach of contract as there is uncertainty if the reasons for the mediation were legal (i.e., negotiating a hush agreement based on one’s affair). Legal contracts cannot be based on illegal acts. Perhaps the better argument for Ramos would have been a broken contract based on the right to mediate a dispute irrespective of the substance of the mediation. Still, this remains uncertain although a likely issue on appeal.
In the end, it seems as though Ramos was outmaneuvered by White with help from the local Attorney General. He was charged with a crime and sent to jail with the alleged prospects that if he pled guilty he would be compensated for signing a nondisclosure agreement.
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