Liam Payne’s friend Roger Nores has taken legal action against the musician’s father Geoff Payne, over defamatory claims
The former One Direction star died in October 2024 at the age of 31 following a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires and now Nores, his friend, who was with him in the Argentinian city, has decided to take his late friend's dad to court, claiming that the "false and defamatory" statements about him to a prosecutor led to arrest and manslaughter charges being placed upon him.
The singer's father had claimed in "sworn declarations" to police that Nores was part of a "care group" dedicated to his son because he "could not be left alone in the vulnerable situation in which he was" but now the former manager has said that the declarations are "false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge."
According to the lawsuit, Nores is seeking damages of $10 million.
He also insisted that he and the “Strip That Down” hitmaker were just "mutual dear friends" and nothing more.
Nores claimed that Geoff's statements impacted his reputation in "mega proportions with extensive damages".
However, according to Nores, the net financial proceeds of the judicial proceedings will benefit Liam’s son, Bear, whom he had with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.
He told “Rolling Stone”: "All the proceeds will be donated to my friend’s son.
"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."
In November, Nores told how he saw Liam less than an hour before his fatal fall as he dismissed claims police had raided his home in connection to the tragedy.
He explained to the “MailOnline”: "I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.
"There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left.
"I could have never imagined something like this would happen.
"I've given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since.
"I wasn't Liam's manager, he was just my very dear friend and please refer to the email I sent to Liam and his team on August 23.
"I'm really heartbroken with this tragedy, and I've been missing my friend every day."