Man of the Rose

(This was an article published last week from The Bangkok Post. Any texts italized here are Cee’s side comments, please do note.)

It was a tempting offer at the time. Actor/model Mario Maurer called his old manager, Nirun ‘Coco’ Limsowong, offering an apology to end their multi-million baht legal dispute.  Superstar Mario suggested a one-on-one meeting to settle their contract and damges row, which has dragged on for months.

Mario contacted coco last month asking if he could prostrate himself at his feet, in a formal show of “sorry” for their falling out. Coco, who discovered the young star, started the legal action after Mario left him for rival manager, Supachai ‘A’ Sriwichit.

Coco says Mario left him in breach of their contract, and accuses of A stealing his star property away.

As for the meeting, Coco was willing to turn up, but his mother told him not to go.

Mario contacted Coco two weeks before Mother’s Day (August 12 in Thailand) sounding teary. He asked if they could see each other privately, so he could beg forgiveness at his feet. (Hmmm…mga ate pakibaba ang mga kilay nyo!)

The catch? Coco, said Mario between snuffles, would have to come alone. (Mga ate jaws ko ‘wag masyadong mag-isip ng kung anu- ano ha?! Pakibaba ulit mga kilay nyo ;-P)  Coco was represented with a challenge. Was Mario’s offer mere legal chicanery, or a genuine attempt to settle the dispute?

“I felt sorry for Mario, and almost said yes. He wanted to prostrate himself at my feet, and I told him it wasn’t necessary. But he insisted, saying a monk had advised him to make an apology. At that time, I had just been through an operation on my eye, and needed time to recover. I told Mario, and he asked me to call again when I was ready.

We have not spoken since. I consulted many people, including my mother, who said I would be foolish to meet him amid our legal dispute, and even sillier to go alone. I trust Mario, but not the people who surround him,” says Coco, who believes Mario now is trying to prolong thei dispute needlessly.

This week Mario failed to turn up at a preliminary hearing called by the Southern Criminal Court. He sent his lawyer instead. The two sides failed to make progress. The court has now called another meeting to examine Coco’s witnesses, on Sept. 18.

Coco is seeking 600,000 baht from mario for breach of contract, after Mario left to join camp of rival manager A.

 In another suit, Coco is suing A for 6 million baht in damages, for luring Mario away to join his own stable.

Mario and his manager are suing Coco back, for a total of 44 million baht, for damaging their reputation, as he aired details of their dispute in the media.

Mario maintains he still respects Coco, who turned Mario into a star. But Coco is not sure if Mario genuinely wants to bring their dispute to an end.

Lawyers for both sides, he said, had attempted to reach a settlement outside court, without success.

“If he turned up at court, we could end it quickly. Both sides have to give ground, and the court still is confident that we can settle without it going before the judges.

“For me, the moneyis just part of it. The real problem is that Mario refuses to apologize.”

Asked to comment on Coco’s claims that he offered to prostrate himself at a private meeting, Mario says he has been advised to stay mum. “It could affect the outcome fo the case,” he says.

For the latest development of this trial YESTERDAY, fellow blogger Dirtii Laundry has more. Check my previous posts about this case here.