TV’s Judge Greg Mathis allegedly berated a Los Angeles municipal worker who blocked his driveway, threatening to shoot the man if he did not move his “f****** truck out of the way.”
That’s according to a forthcoming lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, from L.A. Department of Power and Water employee Ricardo Acosta. Through his lawyer, Mathis has denied Acosta’s claims.
According to TMZ, Acosta says he was doing work outside Mathis’s home in July 2023 when the judge confronted him. Mathis—who spent a cumulative 25 seasons presiding over daytime television courtrooms—was allegedly trying to exit his driveway and couldn’t get around Acosta’s dump truck.
The city worker says Mathis got out of his car and started screaming swear words at him. When Acosta asked Mathis to move from behind the dump truck for his own safety, Mathis purportedly shouted at Acosta “to run him over and see what happens.”
At that point, Acosta claims Mathis went back inside and got a gun, threatening to “bust a cap” if Acosta continued to “f*** with” him, according to TMZ’s report. Acosta says Mathis finally got into his car and left, shouting at Acosta once more on the way out about shooting him.
TMZ says Acosta is asking for damages for alleged assault and infliction of emotional distress, though the lawsuit hasn’t been officially filed.
Mathis’ attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar, told The Daily Beast that the judge plans to “vigorously defend” himself against Acosta’s allegations and “pursue all legal remedies for the harm inflicted upon him,” including damages for defamation.
In a statement to TMZ, Sedaghatfar added that the suit was full of “demonstrable falsities.”
She also suggested it was Acosta who had threatened her client, putting him in fear “for his own safety and the safety of his family,” she told the tabloid. “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.”
