Liam Payne’s father embroiled in $10 million defamation lawsuit filed by singer’s friend in Florida

Geoff Payne, the father of late One Direction singer Liam Payne, has been named in a US defamation lawsuit by the singer’s friend and businessman, Roger Nores, over ‘false statements’ that were allegedly made in relation to the pop star’s death

Three months of from the tragic death of Liam Payne, the late One Direction singer’s family are facing a new turmoil.

Geoff Payne, Liam’s grieving father, has been named in a US defamation lawsuit by the singer’s friend Roger Nores – a decision that has outraged many of Liam’s fans on social media.

Liam, 31, died from polytrauma, meaning multiple traumatic injuries, after he fell from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16th October, a UK inquest opening heard earlier this month.

Five people were later charged over his death, including Mr Nores who was accused of manslaughter, with Argentinian prosecutors claiming he “abandoned” the singer and failed in his duty of care responsibilities – something Mr Nores strongly denies.

In an eye-watering $10million legal complaint filed in Florida on Wednesday, Mr Nores claimed that Payne’s father made sworn declarations to Argentine officials which were “false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge”.

Mr Nores claims if his lawsuit is successful, all the money he receives will go to Liam’s son, Bear Payne. Liam shared his seven-year-old son with his former partner Cheryl. Liam’s estate is said to have slammed the idea of donating the money to Bear as “pointless” and claimed the legal action will cause “irreparable damage” to the young child.

“All the proceeds will be donated to my friend’s son,” the Argentine businessman told Rolling Stone on Thursday. He continued: “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 the 263-page document, the contested statements include allegations that Liam was in the care of Mr Nores and Liam’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy “due to his addictions”, according to the lawsuit. Liam spoke openly about his issues with alcohol and drugs with podcaster Steven Bartlett in 2021.

Liam tragically died in October 2024 ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

Nores, left, is suing Liam’s father, Geoff, for defamation ( 
Image:
@_derekmilton/tiktok)
The court documents claim Mr Nores’ relationship with the late singer was misrepresented, noting the pair had a “dear mutual friendship” but insisted he “never had a legal duty of care” towards him. “Liam was an independent adult person who made all his own decisions,” the lawsuit stated, adding Mr Nores was “never the caretaker of Liam”.

Mr Nores claims the statements, which were shared with the media, had an “adverse impact” on his reputation of “mega proportions with extensive damages”. In the legal document filed in Flordia, Mr Norse claims Liam’s father made “false, misleading” statements and omitted information in his “sworn declarations” to Argentine officials when discussing Mr Norses’ role in his late son’s life.

Despite the fact Geoff made the statements in Argentina, Mr Nores’ lawsuit alleges that they were “accessed by persons in the Palm Beach County/Florida” area and caused injury to him in said places. The businessman claims the comment damaged his image and severely impacted his reputation.

According to Rolling Stone, Mr Norses alleges he sent a demand defamation retraction letter to Geoff Payne’s legal team on 8th January. He claims he received a response on 10th January and Liam’s estate allegedly decline to retract the statements and accused Mr Nores of “seeking to interfere with a police investigation by pressuring [Geoff] to change his evidence”.

The publication claims that the letter states “the state could not take this matter more seriously,” adding that they had decided to support Geoff, who denies that he had defamed Roger Nores or caused any harm.”

The Rolling Stone also reports that Mr Nores includes an email from August 2024 as an exhibit in the lawsuit in order to support his notion that he was nothing more than a friend to Liam and was not seen as one of the late singer’s carers. The alleged email was sent to Liam, Geoff and Liam’s business manager.

According to Rolling Stone, Mr Nores claimed he “never had access” to Liam’s finances in the email and said he was going to “stay fully out of the picture and disconnected from now on”. He also alleges that he helped Liam land his deal to appear on Building The Band – a Netflix series that is yet to premiere – and he paid for a private jet for Liam to travel to South America.

Allegedly, in an email, Roger claims that he never received any form of salary and often paid with his own finances during Liam’s stay. He added that he was in no way in need of being reimbursed as he was helping a friend out, but later stated he no longer had plans to help him as Liam lived in Europe.

Nores claimed that he was “concerned” for Liam’s wellbeing in the UK and had hoped his loved ones would be able to bring professional medical staff to assist him and was planning to “disconnect himself” from the musician.

Liam’s funeral in November in Buckinghamshire was attended by fellow One Direction stars Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, along with his family and friends. After his band went on hiatus he launched a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo, and the track For You with Rita Ora.