The Taco Bell executive who violently attacked an Uber driver last year is reportedly suing his victim for $5 million for recording the incident. To add insult to injury, the plaintiff stated that the driver himself is to blame for any injuries he suffered during the incident.
The suit was filed just a month after Benjamin Golden issued a statement saying that he “never should have slapped Uber driver Edward Caban” and had “deep regret” for his conduct.
The court filing, which CNBC obtained from the Orange County Superior Court, made little mention of the previous case.
The unfortunate encounter in Oct. 30 saw the helpless Caban being continuously slapped on the head by Golden, who was arrested and then fired after the video of the attack went viral.
The video showed Golden’s violent assault on Caban after he is told to get out of the car for being too intoxicated. Golden was arrested after the incident and charged with assault and battery. He was then fired by Taco Bell where he worked as a marketing manager days later. Caban, on the other hand, quit Uber and filed a case against Golden for “assault and infliction of emotional distress.”
In Golden’s new legal filings, he asserts that Caban recorded him without Golden’s consent and cites the California penal code, which states a person cannot intentionally record a conversation with someone else “without the consent of all parties.”
Golden’s claim for $5 million in damages from Caban is in direct contrast to his lawyers Courtney Pilchman and Anita Kay earlier having said that Golden wanted to “sincerely apologize” to the driver for the incident and that he was “extremely remorseful.”
