Johnny Depp
Depp sued over alleged concert clash
Johnny Depp is being sued by a disabled woman who claims she was roughed up by the actor's security guards.
In a lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, the 52-year-old - identified solely as Jane Doe - alleges that the Pirates of the Caribbean star's entourage physically assaulted her at an Iggy and the Stooges concert at the Hollywood Palladium in December.
In court papers obtained by E! News, Doe, purportedly a medical professor at UC Irvine, claims she was trying to get to her seat in the VIP area when the alleged incident with the star's security detail kicked off.
According to Doe - who, the suit says, suffers from fibromyalgia and other conditions which affects her joints and back - Depp's security guards became confrontational with her, put her in a bear hug, grabbed her wrists, and pried her iPhone from her hand "one finger at a time".
The suit also alleges that Depp's security detail later handcuffed the woman and dragged her through the venue, causing her trousers to be removed from her torso and hips, "exposing her buttocks to the other Hollywood Palladium Theatre patrons."
Doe claims she suffered a dislocated elbow, bleeding, bruising "and extreme and outrageous humiliation" as a result of the alleged wrangle. She also claims the incident exacerbated her previous conditions.
The suit claims, according to the website, that Depp was "supplying direct supervision and management of his security guards and directing their current and future actions."
The lawsuit was filed by Beverley Hills attorneys Marvin Louis Wolf and Sepehr Daghighian, says The Hollywood Reporter, and alleges 12 counts including negligence, premises liability, assault, false imprisonment and discriminatory practices.
Doe is suing both Depp and the venue for unspecified damages.
News of the woman's alleged run-in with Depp's bodyguards was first reported by TMZ back in December.
The website identified her as Robin Eckert, who, according to law enforcement sources, had filed a police report claiming she had been sat next to the actor and his security team on the night of the concert.
Eckert claimed she was tackled by the Rum Diary's entourage when she 'accidentally' got too close to Depp's table, reported TMZ.
The case in reportedly still under investigation.
No word as yet from Depp's camp on the lawsuit.
(Published by NZ Herald - April 18, 2012)