On May 20, 2011, plaintiff James Gallegos, a police officer, was at Havana House Cigars & Lounge, in Alhambra, when he was allegedly choked, grabbed, and thrown to the ground by employees of Havana House. Gallegos was then arrested. He claimed he sustained to his knee during the altercation. Gallegos sued Havana House and the employees that he believed assaulted him, Gilardo Lopez, Donald Bernard, and Jose Escandon. Carlos Fidencio Jr. and Valerie Herrera were also named as defendants, and Havana House Cigars & Lounge, Havana House Inc., and Jose De Alba were later added as defendants. Gallegos alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted negligence, assault and battery, malicious prosecution, and violations of his civil rights under the Bane Act. Several defendants were removed from the case, and the matter continued against Bernard, Escandon, Lopez, and the Havana House entities. Gallegos claimed that Bernard, Escandon, and Lopez, who were all employed by Havana House, choked, grabbed, and threw him to the ground. He also claimed that the employees then pursued false charges against him via a citizen’s arrest, which caused him to be falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Bernard, Escandon, and Lopez were negligent, as there was no reason to grab or choke Gallegos. Counsel also argued that there was no justification for having Gallegos arrested and/or prosecuted. Defense counsel argued that Gallegos was drunk and started a verbal altercation. Counsel contended that Gallegos got into the face of a patron and yelled at the patron, and that when the bouncers asked him to leave, Gallegos refused. Counsel also contended that employees of Havana House saw Gallegos lift up a beer glass and that they thought Gallegos was going hit a patron with it. Defense counsel argued that as a result, bouncers gently grabbed Gallegos, but he struggled and Gallegos’ friend punched a bouncer multiple times. Counsel also argued that since there appeared to be an imminent threat of danger and the bouncers were in fear for their safety, the bouncers only grabbed Gallegos around his neck when he resisted and that the grab only lasted seven seconds and was not a choke. However, defense counsel argued that in response, Gallegos grabbed another customer, threw him against a car, punched various people, pulled out his gun, pointed it at the bouncers, and threatened to kill them. Counsel contended that as a result, Havana House had Gallegos arrested., Gallegos claimed he was arrested two times, once by the employees of Havana House and then, later, by the police department on felony charges, after the District Attorney utilized her independent judgment and investigation to pursue charges. He claimed that he was put into handcuffs for a few minutes (under 10 minutes each time) and was put into a secured jail cell for his own protection for a couple of hours, as he is a police officer. Gallegos further claimed that he was choked for 11 seconds and that he sustained a skinned knee. However, he did not undergo medical treatment. Gallegos claimed that he was temporarily out of work from his job due to the arrest, causing him to, temporarily, lose his pay. However, he received his pay back after being exonerated, but allegedly lost overtime opportunities worth $28,000. In addition, Gallegos claimed that he suffered from emotional distress as a result of the incident. He first sought psychological treatment three years after the incident, but only received two days of psychological counseling. In addition, he sought recovery of punitive damages. Defense counsel disputed Gallegos’ skinned knee, arguing that there was no blood or injury and arguing that Gallegos walked away with no problem. The defense’s psychiatric expert opined that if Gallegos was truly emotionally distraught, he would not have waited three years to seek treatment. The expert also noted that Gallegos was a Kaiser member and could get treatment at any time. Moreover, the expert believed Gallegos’ emotional should have fully resolved long ago.