Justin Bieber Attends Five-Hour Mediation Over Alleged Photographer Assault Lawsuit
Justin Bieber attended a mediation session in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, in connection to a lawsuit filed by a photographer, who alleges he was roughed up by one of the singer’s bodyguards.
According to the Associated Press, Bieber, his lawyers, the paparazzo Jeffrey Binion, and his lawyer Mark DiCowden, met up in the court-ordered session to attempt to work out a settlement of the lawsuit, which was filed in June 2013 against the singer and one of his bodyguards by Binion.
Binion claims he was assaulted by one of Bieber’s bodyguards [Hugo Hesny] and three other bodyguards. He alleges he was held in a choke-hold by Hesny, while other guards allegedly took his camera and memory card. The paparazzo says this took place after he was spotted snapping photos of Bieber outside Miami’s Hit Factory recording studio.
Binion claims Bieber ordered the alleged assault. He is seeking unspecified damages and reportedly hoping for millions. The singer denies directing his guards to attack Binion.
The reportedly almost five-hour mediation took place at the Bilzin Sumberg law firm and was mediated by retired judge David Gersten, AP notes. A source told reportedly told E! News, “as of today, nothing was resolved.”
If no settlement is reached in the mediation, the case will go to trial on May 11.
On March 6, 2014, Bieber was infamously sarky and non-communicative during a four-hour deposition, during which DiCowden grilled him about his personal life, background, career, advisers, financial affairs, celebrity photographers, bodyguards and other topics. However, it’s reported Tuesday’s mediation passed without drama.
After the session, Bieber was snapped boarding a private jet carrying his new Yorkshire Terrier puppy, Esther. The singer later posted a selfie of himself looking somewhat worn.
Meanwhile, Comedy Central has revealed that Bieber’s much hyped roast was the third-most-watched, behind Jeff Foxworthy’s in 2005 and Charlie Sheen’s in 2011. Around 4.4 million people watched Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell, Shaquille O’Neal, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, and established comics throw verbal punches at Bieber in the first telecast on March 30.
Reportedly, 1.4 million tuned in for the repeat, while 420,000 watched on live stream. But it was on social media that the numbers got crazy.
The special ranked No. 1 among all shows on Monday, triggering 1.3 million mentions and more than 40 roast-related trending topics worldwide and the U.S. throughout the telecast.
THATS NOT GANGSTER pic.twitter.com/ivAPLCqlBv
— The Best Freestyles (@HotFreestyle) March 31, 2015
Roast-related social media content generated 6.9 billion impressions across social media platforms, as measured by Velocity Echo Social Graph, and based on stats from Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Additionally, almost 2 million people on Facebook commented and/or liked, and/or shared three million posts about Bieber’s skewering. 33 million total streams were tagged across Comedy Central platforms, based on data from Adobe Site Catalyst, Youtube, Facebook, Whipclip, and Snapchat.
The Inquisitr will have updates on the Justin Bieber Vs. Jeffrey Binion mediation.
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[Images via Manuel Munoz/PacificCoastNews/Instagram/Getty Images]
