NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of the daughter of late boxer Arturo Gatti.
The girl’s mother, Erika Rivera, filed the wrongful death lawsuit last fall on behalf of then-5-year-old Sofia Bella Gatti. The suit blames Gatti’s widow, Amanda Rodrigues Gatti, for his death.
Arturo Gatti was found dead in an apartment in Brazil in 2009. Brazilian police initially held Rodrigues Gatti as a suspect but eventually ruled it a suicide. That conclusion is disputed by Gatti’s former trainer and others.
Attorneys for Gatti’s widow claimed New Jersey wasn’t the proper venue since the death occurred in Brazil. On Friday, a state judge granted their motion to dismiss on those grounds. The lawsuit still could be brought in Brazil or Canada, where Rodrigues Gatti resides.
