Liam Payne’s Friend Roger Nores Files to Dismiss Lawsuit Against Late Singer’s Father After Manslaughter Charges Are Dropped

Nores, who was initially charged with manslaughter in the singer’s death, filed a lawsuit in January claiming that Payne’s father Geoff defamed him and made sworn statements that were “false” and caused “injury”

The late Liam Payne‘s close friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores has filed a dismissal of his lawsuit against the One Direction singer’s father, Geoff Payne.

The businessman, 35, sued Payne’s father in January for defamation following him being charged with manslaughter in December 2024 in the singer’s death on Oct. 16, 2024. The charges against Nores were dropped in February, and he has now filed a dismissal of his lawsuit. The document, which was filed on April 9 and obtained by PEOPLE, states that Nores “gives notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.”

Nores, an Argentinian businessman, spent Payne’s final days with him in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Payne died at the age of 31 after a fatal fall from his balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.

In Nores’ lawsuit, which was filed in Florida and previously obtained by PEOPLE, Nores claimed that Geoff made sworn statements that were “false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge” that have been shared in the media and caused “injury” and damages worth more than $10 million.

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In the 263-page complaint, Nores alleged that his friendship with the late musician was misrepresented and that he “did not have a legal duty to Liam” and that they were just “mutual dear friends.”

Payne’s estate responded to the filing by shutting down Nores’ defamation claims, and instead claiming that Geoff simply cooperated with Argentinian authorities in the investigation into his sons’ death.

“The Estate could not take this matter more seriously,” the response from Payne’s estate read. “It has therefore taken the decision to support [Geoff] in this matter. [Geoff] denies, in the strongest possible terms, that he has defamed or otherwise caused any harm to your client (in the manner set out by your correspondence of 8 January 2025 or otherwise).”

PEOPLE previously reported that Nores’ lawsuit stemmed from statements made by Geoff on Oct. 22 and Oct. 26 to an Argentine prosecutor. 

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At the time, Geoff claimed that he was only able to speak with his son through Nores and Liam’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. However, Nores alleges that Geoff’s family was able to speak with Liam via phone, laptop or bodyguard.

While the sworn declaration from Payne’s father noted that Nores was a part of a “care group” that was supposed to “keep Liam busy” since he “could not be left alone in the vulnerable situation in which he was,” Nores denied almost every claim writing that he “never agreed to be the caretaker of Liam” and that they were solely friends.

In an interview with Reuters last month, Nores spoke about his friendship with Payne after being cleared of manslaughter charges related to his death.

“As a friend, you see them having a drug problem and you do what you can, but at the end of the day it’s their decision,” he sad. “You start seeing a chain of events, and it was just bad luck — it happened in a way that ended in tragedy.”

Nores also said he was with Payne constantly for “the last six months of his life.” “We were together every single day, all the time, along with our girlfriends at that time,” he noted.

Nores’ lawyer, Rafael Cuneo Libaron, who was present during his interview with Reuters, said that Nores had sent Payne’s family an email before his death recommending that he go to rehab. The lawyer said that, ultimately, the drugs “are at fault” for the musician’s death. 

The charges against Nores, along with the charges against hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi, were dropped after a hearing in Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Court in February.

A previous statement claimed Nores was charged after allegedly “failing to fulfill his duties of care, assistance and help” toward Payne and that he “abandoned him,” knowing he suffered from “multiple addictions.”

Hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz were also charged in December 2024 with supplying drugs to Payne and they remain in prison as they await trial.

A preliminary autopsy revealed that Payne died of multiple injuries and “internal and external” hemorrhages. According to his toxicology report released in November 2024, Payne had “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in his body.

The British star’s cause of death was confirmed by an inquest in the U.K. as “polytrauma,” according to a hearing in December 2024 at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court.

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