Singer Ricky Martin filed a lawsuit Wednesday against his nephew Dennis Yadiel Sanchez for extortion, and damages, seeking compensation amounting to at least $30 million.
This lawsuit before the Court of First Instance of the Superior Chamber of San Juan comes after the court filed the case against Ricky Martin on July 21 after his nephew asked to annul the requested protection order.
Against the singer weighed a protection order based on Law 54, which protects victims of domestic violence, and which had been granted ex parte in early July after Sánchez’s complaint.
According to the lawsuit filed today, the artist asks the court to “order defendant Sanchez to immediately refrain from communicating with the plaintiff and his family, either personally, by telephone and/or through social media.”
Also that the court “sentence the defendant to pay the damages claimed, interest, costs and attorney’s fees,” says the text released by Perfect Partners, the singer’s public relations firm in Puerto Rico.
“The defendant Sánchez has threatened and extorted the plaintiff that unless he is compensated financially, he will continue with his campaign to assassinate his reputation and integrity through false and malicious accusations,” the text adds.
$20 million in reputational damage
The lawsuit alleges that “Sanchez’s reckless, malicious and culpable actions were motivated by a desire to expose the plaintiff to the hatred and contempt of his fanaticism and to curtail his business opportunities and destroy his reputation.”
These actions caused the plaintiff to be canceled millionaire contracts and present and future artistic projects. Pecuniary damages are quantified in an amount of not less than $10 million.
In addition, they have caused damage to the plaintiff’s reputation that is quantified at the date of filing of this lawsuit in an amount not less than $20 million.
He would have published the artist’s phone number
The lawsuit recounts how Sanchez contacted Ricky Martin on several occasions via WhatsApp and Instagram and even posted his phone number before asking for the aforementioned protection order against him.
In addition, after the case was closed, he threatened him again. According to the text, less than a month after the court hearing and as recent as August 12 and 14, Sánchez sent messages on Instagram to the singer.
These messages read “Uncle I need your help” and “how are you?” respectively, which the lawsuit understands as a “persecution and stalking that have no other explanation than to do even more harm to the plaintiff.”
Sanchez, 21, alleged at the time that he had a romantic relationship with Ricky Martin for seven months and that, after the breakup, his uncle intimidated him and approached his home several times.
The singer always called the allegations “completely false.”