The passenger who attacked an Uber driver last October has now filed legal charges against the driver. The incident which occurred in Costa Mesa, California was posted in Youtube and immediately went viral.
NBC News reported that the passenger who was identified as a former Taco Bell executive is claiming that the driver illegally recorded the violent incident. According to the court documents, he’s seeking $5 million in damages.
Passenger Benjamin Golden asserts that driver Edward Caban is the one responsible for the injuries he suffered during the unfortunate incident.
Atty. Courtney Pilchman, who represents the plaintiff, has been reported to inform prosecutors that she will seek legal ways to have Caban’s video disqualified from evidence since the footage was allegedly made by Caban illegally.
She further notes that the driver is kind of “quite the opportunist”, while also citing that "there's very little truth to the damages that he claims" including post-traumatic stress and as well as living in fear following the violent encounter with her client.
"I don't believe he has any of those," commented Golden’s lawyer.
According to FOX News, the clip revealed what happened after Caban told Golden to “get out” because he’s highly-intoxicated. Later, Golden began slapping, hitting and pulling Coban’s hair, making the driver hit back with a pepper spray.
Following the altercation, Caban filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Golden where he has pleaded not guilty.
Due to this incident, Golden got fired from his job as a marketing manager at Taco Bell.
Per The Orange County Register, the “overwhelming” effect of the viral video had negative effects on Golden. He said that “he suffered severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and the loss of his job.”
To this end, Golden has filed for invasion of privacy, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery.
Golden is set for a court hearing on Feb. 24th.
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