BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The legal dispute over the capitalization of Diego Maradona’s brand crept into the trial of seven medical professionals accused of negligence in the soccer star's death, emerging in testimony of his younger sister Thursday.
Maradona’s image rights are held by a company called Sattvica in which Maradona’s two sisters and lawyer Matías Morla are shareholders, while none of Maradona’s five children profit from it.
The court in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro called a recess Thursday after a back-and-forth between lawyers when one of them asked Claudia Nora Maradona if she had secured a contractual agreement with her late brother.
“First of all, in life we received gifts. Then he left us the brands,” she replied when asked by Fernando Burlando.
Burlando is the lawyer for Dalma and Gianinna Maradona, two of the star’s daughters who have sued their aunt, other relatives, and close associates claiming fraud in the exploitation of the Maradona brand.
When Burlando tried to delve into the details of the deal, Claudia Nora Maradona’s lawyer, Pablo Jurado, objected to his client’s further comment on the matter, arguing that it could harm her legally. After this, the three judges deliberated for nearly an hour.
Claudia and Rita Maradona, Maradona’s sisters; his lawyer during his lifetime, Morla; and three others stand accused in the civil suit.
The daughters argue that Morla, in collusion with the others, took advantage of Maradona’s deteriorating health to force him to sign over the rights to his brand.
Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986, died on Nov. 25, 2020. He was 60.
When the hearing resumed, the judges ordered the witness to continue answering — arguing that it was relevant to the case.
Claudia Nora Maradona asserted that Maradona assigned the rights to them during a meeting in the summer of 2019.
“He left me the rights. He told me so,” she testified, adding that she receives monthly dividends.
Ana and Rita Maradona, also sisters of Maradona — and his ex-wife Verónica Ojeda were expected to testify later.
According to the prosecution, the seven professionals charged in the negligence case — a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, doctors, and nurses — who were caring for the former soccer great failed to provide adequate care, which may have led to his death.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Débora Rey, The Associated Press
