A Los Angeles man is preparing to sue former reality TV star Judge Greg Mathis for allegedly threatening to shoot him while the man was working for the city outside Mathis' home.
An attorney representing Ricardo Acosta has written, but has not yet filed, a complaint alleging that Mathis assaulted Acosta and inflicted emotional distress on him during a heated confrontation on July 25, 2023. According to the complaint, Acosta worked for the Department of Water and Los Angeles Water. Power when Mathis berated him for blocking his driveway with a city dump truck and threatened him with a gun.
Mathis' attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar, dismissed the lawsuit as an attempt to extort her client and said it contained an inaccurate representation of what happened.
“The fact that the Los Angeles police have not even investigated Mr. Acosta's claims speaks to their lack of merit,” he said. “If Mr. Acosta files this lawsuit, we will not only vigorously defend the case, but we will also file cross-claims against Mr. Acosta for his unlawful conduct and repeated defamation of my client.”
According to the complaint, Mathis yelled, “Get the damn truck out of the way,” while standing directly behind Acosta's truck. Acosta then asked Mathis to move out of the way while he backed the truck, as it was on a slope and he was concerned it might roll when it started moving, the complaint says.
Mathis refused to do so and said he “didn't mind running him over and seeing what happened to him,” according to the complaint. The complaint states that Mathis ran into his house, came out with a gun and said, “I'm going to break a cap,” which is slang for putting a bullet in someone.
Acosta alleges that this incident caused him emotional and financial harm as he underwent medical treatment and hired an attorney.
It seeks compensatory damages for loss of wages, profits, commissions, retirement benefits and other employee benefits, as well as general damages for mental pain, emotional distress and loss of earning capacity.
Mathis was the star of “Judge Mathis,” an arbitration-based court reality show, which ran for 24 seasons from September 13, 1999 to May 25, 2023.
