Summary: The Taco Bell corporate manager who beat an Uber driver is suing the driver for $5 million.
Benjamin Golden, a former Taco Bell corporate manager, gained Internet fame last year when a video of him allegedly attacking an Uber driver went viral.
In the video from October 30 of last year, a drunken Golden viciously beat his Uber cab driver, Edward Caban. Golden left the car only after Caban pepper-sprayed him. Caban had been recording the incident with his dash cam after Golden became confrontational when Caban asked him for directions.
Caban filed a lawsuit against Newport Beach, California-based Golden in November, claiming assault, battery and infliction of emotional distress. Caban’s video wasn’t only uploaded online where it was seen by millions, but he also used it to show the police what had happened in the car.
After the viral attention, Golden was fired by Taco Bell, and he went on a national apology tour. He appeared on CBS and choked out some tears. “I’m ashamed,” Golden said before he apologized.
But Golden’s tears now seem like crocodile tears now that he is suing the Uber driver for $5 million. According to The Los Angeles Times, Golden is claiming invasion of privacy. He states he was unaware he was being recorded and that he was recorded without his permission.
Golden filed his lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court last month as a counter to Caban’s suit. He says the video caused him severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, loss of employment and an inability to get another job.
While Golden’s countersuit seems laughable — I mean, does he really think an Uber driver has $5 million — he does have a shot of winning or at least of leveraging this claim to lessen his own charges. According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, California is an all-party consent state. That means that although the driver knew he was recording, the tape was illegal if Golden, the second party, was unaware he was being recorded.
However, car dash cams are pretty visible so it seems unlikely that even a drunk Golden wouldn’t know there was a chance he was being videotaped, but that will be up to the court to decide.
Golden’s attorney Courtney Pilchman declined to comment on the case, but Caban’s attorney, Rivers J. Morrell III, said what pretty much everyone is thinking.
“[Golden]’s now blaming everybody else and not taking responsibility for his conduct,” Morrell said. “I don’t buy it, and I think it will make him look even worse than he already does.”
A spokesperson from Uber said in November that Golden was permanently banned from using the service. In addition to Caban’s civil suit, Golden is facing four misdemeanor charges from the district attorney’s office. He pleaded not guilty.
Source: The Los Angeles Times
Source: RCFP
Lead image source: YouTube