A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has removed himself from a case brought by a man who alleges he was battered and falsely arrested by a security guard at The Grove during a 2023 protest. Judge Jeffery D. McFarland recused himself from the case on Monday, sending it to supervising Judge Lawrence P. Riff for reassignment. The minute order prepared by McFarland's clerk did not state a reason for his recusal.
The lawsuit was filed by Peter Lecki, a San Mateo County resident, who names multiple defendants including Caruso Management Co. Ltd., A.F. Gilmore Co., GFM LLC, Critical Solutions-Protective Services LLC, and one of Critical Solutions’ security guards. Lecki's lawsuit alleges civil rights violations, negligence, violation of the state constitution, false imprisonment, and false arrest. He is seeking unspecified compensatory damages and punitive damages against the guard.
According to Lecki’s lawsuit, the incident occurred on March 22, 2023, during a book signing by Paris Hilton at Barnes & Noble. Lecki states he was trying to peacefully protest the wearing of animal fur, noting that Hilton “wears fur despite the animal cruelty concerns with its production.” He was carrying protest signs and a banner, and also pulling a loudspeaker on wheels playing sounds of animals being skinned alive. Lecki was walking at the intersection of Gilmore Way and First Street, about a block from the bookstore, when the encounter took place.
The lawsuit alleges that a security guard employed by Critical Solutions stepped in front of Lecki, pushed him back, and told him to leave or face arrest. When Lecki refused to leave, the guard allegedly “grabbed and manhandled” him, purported to make a citizen’s arrest, and took him to a detention center in the mall’s basement. Lecki’s suit further states that the guard never instructed him to stop using amplified sound or to protest in a specific area, but instead “categorically ordered Lecki to leave the Grove so that he could not engage in any free speech or protest activity whatsoever anywhere at the Grove.”
Lecki’s lawsuit claims that the guard, knowing there was no lawful basis to arrest him for trespassing, later told police that he had detained Lecki for battery, convincing them to take Lecki to jail. However, Lecki’s body-worn camera footage, referenced in the suit, allegedly showed that he was the victim of a battery, not the aggressor.
In their previous court papers, attorneys for the defendants have stated that the location where Lecki intended to protest was not a public forum, and therefore, the security guard’s response was lawful under state law. Lecki recently filed an amended complaint on June 3, which includes two color photos that he states depict the encounter with the guard. One of these photos, showing an upper view of the confrontation, was reportedly obtained from the mall’s own security footage. A third photo shows the guard’s patch, identifying him as working for Critical Solutions.