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The One Direction star, who lived in Chalfont St Giles, died aged 31 in October 2024 in Buenos Aries. Roger had been on Liam’s Argentinian trip and planned to take Geoff Payne to court following what he claimed were ‘false and defamatory’ statements. He stated the late singer’s dad’s comments to police led to his arrest and manslaughter charges, which were later dropped.
The Argentinian prosecutors had claimed Roger “abandoned” the singer and failed in his duty of care responsibilities. In the legal complaint filed in Florida on Wednesday, Roger 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”. The contested statements include allegations that Payne was in the care of Roger and Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy “due to his addictions”, according to the lawsuit.
However, the court documents claim Roger's 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 Roger was “never the caretaker of Liam”. Roger claimed the statements, which were shared with the media, had an “adverse impact” on his reputation of “mega proportions with extensive damages”.
The lawsuit also stated that “net financial proceeds” from the legal action will be donated to the late singer’s son Bear, whom he shared with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy, who lives in Chalfont St Peter. READ MORE: Did Liam Payne have a baby with Cheryl? When they met | Bucks Free Press In an email obtained by Rolling Stone, Roger revealed a promise he made to Liam’s dad before his death. He wrote: “I’ll always remember when [Geoff] came to me the first night at the ranch after I had picked them up at the airport, how he asked me to promise I would never give up on Liam, no matter what.
“I kept that promise right until the end, and it was pretty hard.” In November 2024, Roger spoke on seeing Payne less than an hour before he fell to his death as he dismissed claims of a police raid of his home connected to the investigation. READ MORE: Celebrities arrive in Amersham for Liam Payne's funeral | Bucks Free Press Payne’s funeral in November in Amersham 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. The inquest into Payne’s death in the UK has been adjourned until a pre-inquest review on November 6..
