Manny Pacquiao

O’Melveny has represented boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao in a number of matters, including a multi-million-dollar lawsuit brought by a promotional company that accused him of failing to live up to his promise to appear at an important Mexican Independence Day event in southern Texas. In opposition to a case dispositive motion, the promotional company submitted a highly suspicious document. The Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas accepted O’Melveny’s request to hold a bench trial on the provenance of the document. After listening to testimony of lay and expert witnesses, reviewing complicated “ink dating” reports, and considering other evidence, the court struck the document from the record and entered a default judgment in Mr. Pacquiao’s favor. The judge acknowledged the severity of the sanction but said O’Melveny’s presentation of evidence was so “clear and convincing,” no other remedy would be appropriate. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision.