Rick Diamond/Getty Images The Rock N Roll Jesus artist agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a battery lawsuit filed by three guys who claimed that Rock and a rap group knocked them around outside a Hollywood hotel in 2006.
Michael Medlin, who supposedly suffered a knee injury that required surgery, had sued for $5 million, while coplaintiffs Jose Perez and Carlos Bonilla had gone after $2.5 million and $1 million, respectively.
Testifying on his own behalf, Rock denied having anything to do with the guys getting beat up or having their cameras stolen after they approached Rock and the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. for autographs in the early morning hours of March 22, 2006, as the group was leaving the Hollywood Roosevelt hot spot Teddy's.
Bonilla and Perez are paparazzi, while Medlin deals in celebrity autographs, according to their lawsuit.
"Mr. Ritchie still says he did not do anything wrong and is still very upset by the lawsuit," Rock's attorney, Edward C. Stark, said after the judgment was handed down.
A jury found both sides negligent in the scuffle that took place.
Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, testified that he saw a member of the T.R.I.B.E. push one of the plaintiffs before they got into their waiting limo. He had no idea how the guys' cameras ended up in their car, Rock said.
No comments:
Post a Comment