Colombian superstar Shakira claimed victory in another judicial round against her former boyfriend Antonio De La Rua, who had filed a lawsuit to obtain a "partnership interest" in the singer's profits.
"I am extremely grateful that the courts have not allowed these baseless lawsuits to prosper," the singer said in a statement. Shakira added that she was "in a very happy moment" in her life and hoped that "this harassment will come to an end."
De La Rua had filed lawsuits against Shakira in New York, Switzerland and Los Angeles. In every one of those legal instances he claimed that the singer had broken a verbal agreement that hey had made four years before their romantic relationship started.
According to the documents filed, De La Rua would receive a share of the profits "in exchange for his business and marketing skills." He is asking for 100 million dollars from Shakira. The lawsuit claims that as her business manager he was instrumental in making Shakira the internatonal superstar that she is today and that he deserves proper compensation for his work during those years.
Abraham Khan, the Superior Court of Los Angeles judge who was overseeing the case, determined that the legal dispute should not be tried in California and argued that it should be tried in Colombia or in the Bahamas, where Shakira lives.
However, De La Rua's attorney, Rachel Fleishman argued that the case was in fact of the competence of the Los Angeles court because judges are versed in show business disputes and Shakira handles much of her business in that city as well. She also argued that many of the witnesses in the case live and work there.
The first lawsuit against Shakira was filed before Swiss authorities but was dismissed in June. De La Rua's legal team then tried to bring the case to New York, but it was also dismissed there last month.
De La Rua's attorney William T. Reid IV stated, "This is a classic case of 'you can run, but you can't hide,' eventually, Ms. Mubarak (Shakira) will have to respond to these claims because she will run out of procedural arguments and delaying tactics." These statements probably mean that the legal conflict between the two parties has not ended and that De La Rua will seek to bring further lawsuits in other countries.