Kathryn Mayorga, a former model whose rape lawsuit against famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was dismissed by a court in Las Vegas in June, is now seeking to appeal the dismissal, The Sun reports.
According to the newspaper, Mayorga appealed the dismissal at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and her case is now expected to be heard first by a mediator during a “one-hour phone hearing” on Tuesday.
Mayorga filed her civil lawsuit against Ronaldo in 2018, alleging that the footballer raped her and is seeking $79 million in damages for "past pain and suffering."
The alleged sexual assault supposedly took place in 2009, with Mayorga claiming Ronaldo paid her some $375,000 in hush money, while her legal team alleged that she settled the matter “under duress.”
Ronaldo himself admitted to having sex with Mayorga, but denied any wrongdoing, insisting that their liaison was purely consensual.
In June, US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in Las Vegas dismissed Mayorga’s case and criticized the woman’s attorney Leslie Mark Stovall for basing the lawsuit on leaked and stolen documents that were private communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.