Justin Bieber and his legal team have been given a jury trial date in a civil lawsuit brought against the singer and one of his bodyguards.
Justin, 20, and one of bodyguards, Hugo Hesny, are being sued in an alleged battery and negligence suit for unspecified damages by Miami paparazzo Jeffery Binion, 57, filed last June.
Binion claims Bieber ordered Hesny and other guards to assault him after he was snapped photos of the then 19-year-old singer outside Miami’s The Hit Factory recording studio on June 5, 2013, when Justin visited the famous complex to record music.
The paparazzo claims Hesny held him in a choke-hold and displayed a firearm, while other bodyguards allegedly took his camera and memory card to delete photos.
According to Gossip Extra , Justin’s attorneys are asking for an arbitrator to supervise the Miami trial. If granted, any judgment would not be binding.
Speaking to the South Florida outlet, Mark DiCowden, who is Binion’s lawyer, claimed the request for an arbitrator was “an attempt to stall.” He added,
“The plaintiff is looking forward to his day in court and a binding judgment.”
Over in Justin’s corner , Roy Black — his criminal defense lawyer based in South Florida — insists otherwise, telling the site,
“We asked for the judge to refer the case to non-binding arbitration, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution authorized by Florida law.”
Black explains, “Non-binding arbitration… will not delay the trial date. Binion has offered no evidence of compensable damage and is pursuing this case largely based on — and — because of, Justin’s celebrity .”
Somewhat quirkily, and some might say, accurately, the lawyer went on to compare Mr. Binion’s intentions to the role of actor Jake Gyllenhaal in the film Nightcrawler , which looks at the life of a petty thief who falls into a not-so-worthy career as a paparazzo.
“To understand his motivation just watch the film Nightcrawler !” the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, Justin was spotted along hanging out in the Los Angeles Clipper’s locker room and having a post-game pow wow (the Clippers demolished the Minnesota Timberwolves by 127-101 at the Staples Center) with team members Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and others.
And the singer wasn’t alone.
Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski and more of the New England Patriot s hit up the locker room.
Naturally, there’s now lots of resulting noise about the so-called Bieber curse, gnashing by tons of Patriots fans and most sports writers , all citing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Bible study meet with the singer before their next-day loss to the lowly New York Jets.
Who knew fanboys were so histrionic? Teams lose because they lose. Period.
NBD hanging out with the beibs #PatriotsNation meet #justinbeiber pic.twitter.com/grBV0alyXr
— Jonas Gray (@jgray_ND25) December 2, 2014
Are you a Belieber? @justinbieber in @LAClippers locker room. Star power tonight pic.twitter.com/NT9A5zz9po
— Jill Painter Lopez (@jillpainter) December 2, 2014
[ Image via Associated Press ]