In October 2024, the world was dealt a heavy blow when it was reported that the former One Direction singer had died while staying at the CasaSur Palemero hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Allegedly, the 31-year-old and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, 25, had been in the country to support and visit his ex-bandmate Niall Horan on tour before his death.
At the time, Payne was staying on the third floor of the hotel and is thought to have fallen from his balcony and into the hotel’s interior courtyard at around 17:07 local time (21:07 BST).
In December, it was revealed that five people were charged in connection to the singer’s death, including two hotel workers and Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores, an alleged friend of Payne.
News.com.au reports that Nores left the singer at the hotel approximately an hour before he fell to his death.
Immediately after Payne’s death, Geoff Payne, his father, flew out to view his son’s hotel room and balcony.
Liam Payne is thought to have fell from his third floor balcony (Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
However, he has now been named in a US defamation lawsuit by Nores and has been alleged to have stated false information to the authorities.
Nores, who was accused of manslaughter, as Argentinian prosecutors claim he ‘abandoned’ Payne and failed in his duty of care responsibilities, has come out to say in his complaint filed Wednesday January 15, that Payne’s father made statements to Argentine officials which were ‘false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge’.
He went on to claim that it is untrue that he and Payne’s girlfriend were caretakers of Payne ‘due to his addictions’, according to the lawsuit.
His filing also states that his relationship to the singer was misrepresented, sharing that they had a ‘dear mutual friendship’ but he ‘never had a legal duty of care’.
The documents read: “Liam was an independent adult person who made all his own decisions.”
Geoff Payne is being sued for $10,000,000 (Rosana Alvarez Mullner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
As for what he alleges that Payne’s father claimed about him, he stated that it had an ‘adverse impact’ on his reputation of ‘mega proportions with extensive damages’.
Nores told Rolling Stone yesterday (January 16): “Geoff needs to backtrack on his [sworn] statement as he very well knows I wasn’t Liam’s nurse or caretaker. Liam, who I miss every day, was my dear friend and an independent, brilliant, respectful free man who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.”
The lawsuit also stated that the ‘net financial proceeds’ will be donated to Bear, Payne’s son who he shared with Cheryl, singer from the girl band, Girls Aloud.
Senior Coroner Crispin Butler said during the hearing: “Whilst there are ongoing investigations in Argentina into the circumstances of Liam’s death, over which I have no legal jurisdiction, it is anticipated that procuring the relevant information to address particularly how Liam came by his death may take some time through the formal channel of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.”
