Ian Ziering is being sued for alleged battery and assault over an altercation with a group of bikers in the middle of a Los Angeles road.
Jacob Hernandez, who was one of the bikers, has filed a civil complaint against the Beverly Hills, 90210 actor for alleged battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution and negligence over the incident on New Year's Eve 2023.
In his lawsuit, Hernandez claims that he and a friend were both riding on motorbikes through a congested road and paused in front of Ziering's Mercedes-Benz, which had already stopped due to traffic.
According to the plaintiff, Ziering "suddenly exited the car", yelled, and shoved him "completely unprompted", causing Hernandez and his friend to fall to the ground along with their bikes. They allegedly sustained injuries and their bikes were damaged.
"(Ziering's) actions were intentional, unnecessary, and posed a foreseeable risk of physical and emotional harm, which (Hernandez) in fact suffered," the complaint reads, reports People.
Hernandez also claims that the Sharknado star omitted the truth when recounting the incident on social media and in interviews and gave "misleading information" to the police, leading to Hernandez's arrest in May 2024. The case was soon dropped.
"(Hernandez) had his name negatively plastered in the media as a result of the public megaphone which the (Ziering) held, lying by omission in multiple interviews, making (Hernandez) out to be the aggressor," the filing alleges.
The plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as a jury trial.
Video footage published by TMZ at the time showed the actor getting out of his car on Hollywood Boulevard and shoving a person on a motorised minibike in front of his vehicle as they waited in traffic. The 61-year-old was then surrounded by another four bikers and a brawl broke out.
The following day, Ziering gave his version of events on Instagram, saying, "While stuck in traffic, my car was approached aggressively by one of these riders leading to an unsettling confrontation. In an attempt to assess any damage I exited my car. This action, unfortunately, escalated into a physical altercation, which I navigated to protect myself."
He has yet to address the lawsuit.
