LOS ANGELES – World boxing icon Emmanuel Manny Pacquiao has won another lawsuit in the United States.

This time, a California Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Pacquiao in a lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles-area waiter and actor Gabriel Rueda.

Only last July, a California Superior Court reversed tentatively an earlier jury ruling on the former world boxing champion’s legal battle with Paradigm Sports.

California Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm ruled that Paradigm Sports was not properly licensed in California as a manager, as state law requires, thus voiding the original contract that Pacquiao had signed with the sports marketing group.

Schwarm’s proposed ruling came 14 months after an Orange County jury sided with Paradigm Sports and ordered the boxing legend to pay the group $1.8 million in damages and give back the $3.3-million advance that the firm gave him. Pacquiao’s legal counsel filed their own appeal shortly after the verdict.

Last August 12, 2024, Judge Schwarm made final his tentative ruling stating that the contracts entered by Pacquiao and Paradigm Sports Management are “illegal,” a year after the attorneys of the eight-division champion filed a motion stating that Paradigm was not properly licensed as a manager under California law. 

The decision stated that Paradigm chief executive officer Audie Attar “testified he did not believe he had a manager’s license for boxers in the State of California in 2019, and he did not recall if he had such a license in 2020 and 2021.”

In the Rueda case, the waiter-actor sought a two percent “finder’s fee,” for reportedly helping put together the May 2, 2015 bout in Las Vegas between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather which ended as the richest boxing event in history.

Judge Anne Richardson issued the summary judgement in Pacquiao’s favor on  Rueda’s claim against him, finding Pacquiao cannot be held liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Rueda’s case against CBS, Showtime, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach and attorney Keith Davidson is expected to go to trial in November, Kevin Iole reported.

Pacquiao, who is running for another term as Philippine senator, hailed the ruling as another victory.