Soccer star David Beckham, 35, plans to continue fighting his legal battle against gossip magazine In Touch and prostitute Irma Nici, after a U.S. judge has dismissed his lawsuit, reports Thisislondon.co.uk.
Last year, Beckham filed lawsuits in Germany and the U.S. against the magazine after they published an article alleging he cheated on his wife with prostitute, Irma Nici. Beckham claimed the magazine was guilty of libel, slander and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Under oath, the soccer star swore that he had “never met Nici, let alone committed adultery or paid her for sex.” However, the Bauer Publishing Company claims they took Nici at her word, and attempted to verify her story as best they could. The judge ruled that Beckham’s story fell under “public interest,” and that Beckham’s legal team failed to prove that the magazine acted with malice.
Beckham’s lawyer, Richard Kendall, argued that the magazine did not verify their source’s information, and that the magzine’s reporting was reckless. Court documents show the athlete was visiting his sick father in London during one of the alleged encounters with the prostitute, Irma Nici.
"Bauer do not dispute for purposes of this motion that their story is false," publicist Jeff Raymond said. "They have not provided one shred of evidence to support the claim this story is true. David Beckham’s clear evidence proved that this is without foundation."
"We have already won a court ruling in Germany and are awaiting damages," said Raymond. "Unfortunately, the U.S. legal system requires us to show that the magazine acted maliciously. Any knowledgeable person knows this story not to be true, and we will continue to fight this in court and the decision will be appealed."
Beckham is married to former Spice Girl, Victoria, 36; they have three sons and are expecting their fourth child this summer.