Justin Bieber bodyguard, Hugo Hesny, is being sued in a civil assault lawsuit alongside the pop star.
Hesny , 32, is also fighting a concurrent misdemeanor battery charge for the same alleged incident which come under the jurisdiction of Miami-Dade police department and the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Both the civil case against Bieber and Hesny, and the bodyguard’s criminal charge, arise from an incident that allegedly took place on June 5, 2013.
Paparazzo Jeffrey Binion alleges he was attacked by Bieber’s guards on the singer’s orders when he was seen taking photos of Justin outside Miami’s Hit Factory recording studio.
The bodyguard’s lawyer has now asked a Miami judge to delay the civil lawsuit against him because he is under criminal investigation.
According to documents filed in the case [via Radar Line ], Hesny’s lawyers have requested permission for him to withdraw from the civil case.
Like Bieber’s now infamous March 6 deposition, Binion’s attorney — Mark DiCowden — obtained a subpoena to depose Hesny.
Hesny’s deposition is reportedly scheduled for May 6, 2014.
Hesny’s lawyers request for the halting of the civil lawsuit against the bodyguard states that, “allowing his civil case to proceed while his criminal investigation is pending violates his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.”
In short, that means when Hesny is questioned as part of the discovery process in the civil suit, what’s revealed can and could be used against him by the state of Miami in his criminal case.
Radar notes the judge has to yet rule on Hesny’s lawyer’s request.
In news related to this case, the UK’s Mirror newspaper is reporting Bieber’s ex-bodyguard Moshe Benabou has also been ordered to testify in the Binon suit at a deposition on April 24.
Benabou, previously worked for Bieber from March 2011 to October 2012.
He was fired after an alleged altercation with Bieber before a show, during which Moshe alleged the star argued with him and struck him a several times in the chest in October over an alleged argument about a member of his entourage.
Benabou later filed a civil suit for assault and unpaid wages on January 10, 2013, but settled out of court with Bieber last month.
On Tuesday, Mark DiCowden, told a judge that he has gathered documentation on at least 11 other alleged assaults against photogs by Bieber’s bodyguards over a two year span.
The opposing attorney is using this as a basis to ask for a punitive damage award for Binion, and says it could deter future assaults on paparazzi.
“It’s not a financial fishing expedition,” DiCowden insisted to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel Tuesday, as he asked to pursue unspecified punitive damages.
“It is well known around the world that Justin Bieber does not like to be photographed in public,” he added.
The attorney told Radar last week that he intends to subpoena Bieber’s on-off girlfriend, actress-singer Selena Gomez to a deposition.
“I will be serving Selena Gomez next week,” he said. “She witnessed Justin Bieber attack a photographer back in 2012.”
During Bieber’s testy deposition in the case, he refused to answer DiCowden’s question about Gomez and was told by lawyers to leave the hearing for a recess
As a result, at Tuesday’s hearing DiCowden asked the judge to order Bieber to a second deposition on the grounds that he was improperly prevented by Bieber’s legal team from pursuing a line of questioning.
The judge will reportedly rule on that particular motion in June.