All rise. Court’s in session.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, Judge Greg Mathis has been hit with a lawsuit for allegedly threatening to shoot a city worker after a heated exchange.
In the documents, a man named Ricardo Acosta claims he was working for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in July 2023 outside of Mathis’s home when he started swearing at him.
Acosta claims the TV judge pulled out of his garage, got out of the vehicle, and started hurling expletives at Acosta and others, demanding they “move the f**king truck out of the way.
The city worker claims to have told the judge to move for his safety, as they feared the truck would roll backward when put into gear because it was parked on an incline.
Mathis allegedly told him that he “did not give a f**k and to run him over and see what happens to him,” TMZ reported.
Acosta claims the TV personality then told him he had something for him and then ran into his house, and later returned with a firearm.
In the suit, the municipal worker claims Mathis brandished the gun and stated, “I will bust a cap…you wanna f**k with me.”
Acosta is suing Mathis for assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He is also going after the judge for an undisclosed amount of damages.
Judge Mathis’s attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar, spoke to TMZ about the Acosta lawsuit. She called out the city worker’s attempt to extort the TV judge, saying, “
“This unfiled complaint that has been conveniently publicly circulated is a last ditch attempt by Mr. Acosta to extort my client Judge Mathis, for financial gain. Mr. Acosta’s recitation of the ‘facts’ simply do not comport with what actually transpired during the incident which occurred over one year ago.”
She continued: “The report made to the LAPD by Mr. Acosta’s superior contains many demonstrable falsities, while also admitting that Judge Mathis feared for his own safety and the safety of his family due to the threats made by Mr. Acosta and his cohorts and the false imprisonment they imposed on Judge Mathis on his own private property.”
“That the LAPD did not even investigate Mr. Acosta’s claims speaks to their lack of merit. Should Mr. Acosta pursue this lawsuit, we will not only vigorously defend the case, we will file cross claims against Mr. Acosta for his illegal conduct and repeated defamation of my client.”
