The Votes Are In!
2024 Readers' Choice is back, bigger and better than ever!
View Winners → Top Posts Dec 09, 2022
by
share with
By BILL HETHERMAN
A former co-owner of the Mexican restaurant Cinco in Westchester is seeking default judgments against Bryce Hall and a social media collaborator of the TikTok star, saying both have ignored his lawsuit alleging they assaulted and battered him during a brawl at the eatery in 2020 after he asked them to stop vaping.
Attorneys for plaintiff Hernan Fernando filed court papers on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court asking for at least $525,000 from the 23-year-old Hall and $225,000 from Robert “Rory” Fitzpatrick. Fernando also says his medical damages are just over $9,000. He sued the two men in April 2021.
Fernando, who says he took a dangerous amount of opiod pills one evening to deal with his pain, additionally says Hall should pay at least another $500,000 in punitive damages and accuses the influencer of racism by chiding the plaintiff when he spoke in Spanish and by deriding his heritage.
“Being a part-owner of Cinco and owning my own business in Los Angeles was the culmination of my American dream and the embodiment of my life’s work,” Fernando says in a sworn declaration in support of the default judgment. “I considered it my greatest professional achievement and took immense pride in being a co-developer and co-owner of such an establishment.”
Hall, Fitzpatrick and two of their companions arrived at Cinco in the late afternoon of Oct. 19, 2020, and Fernando seated them outside due to coronavirus restrictions, according to the plaintiff.
“I noticed that all four men were acting a little exuberant and loud,” Fernando says, adding that Hall mimicked him after he spoke in Spanish to the eatery’s hostess.
Fernando says he asked the four to leave after they ignored demands they stop vaping.
“In response to my request that they leave, Hall pulled out his vape pen, took a hit and blew smoke into my face,” Fernando says. “Although I was frustrated, irritated and concerned by Hall’s conduct, especially given that we were in the midst of a pandemic, I remained calm, told Hall it was time to go and attempted to direct him towards the exit.”
While escorting the group out, Fernando says, Fitzpatrick began punching him and Hall grabbed the plaintiff on the front of his shirt, causing all three to fall to the floor.
“I was repeatedly punched by both Hall and Fitzpatrick as I lay face down,” Fernando says. “I was in pain and shocked by the attack, but I threw no punches.”
Fernando says that before he could rise, Hall jumped on his back and began choking him by putting an arm around the plaintiff’s neck.
“I tried to push Hall’s elbows back to get him to stop choking me, but that did not work,” Fernando says. “I felt like I was about to pass out when a Cinco food runner, Pedro Lopez, pulled Hall’s arm off my neck.”
Fernando says he suffered a broken hand, bruised face, pain from being punched in the ribs as well as neck and back injuries caused by Hall violently pulling his neck into a chokehold. Fernando further says he heard Hall screaming that he was rich and had lawyers who could get him out of any trouble.
Hall yelled at Fernando, “I’m from Bel Air and you’re just a fat Mexican who works at a restaurant,” according to the plaintiff.
Fernando says he took more than 12 days off after the incident to attend doctor visits, receive various medical care and treatments and to rest “because of the extreme pain that I was in” from his injuries.
“To help manage my pain, my medical team prescribed me an opioid medication which not only affected my ability to drive and conduct business,” Fernando says.
One evening in a low moment, Fernando says, he took an entire bottle of about six to eight opiod pills and passed out.
“I had never done anything like that before and, in that moment, I wanted the pills to take me out of the pain and depression,” Fernando says.
Fernando says he went through a “very dark period of time” after the attack that extended beyond his depression.
“I could not sleep for weeks after the attack,” Fernando says. “Those feelings of loneliness and sadness stayed with me for months. I constantly replay in my head how Hall and Fitzpatrick attacked me physically, Hall’s racist taunts to me and the way my staff was treated and threatened by him.”
Fernando says he remained a co-owner of Cinco until August of this year.
In media reports, Hall said during an interview that the fight started when someone at the restaurant tried to drag him from the premises. He further said that he acted to protect one of his friends and that he was kicked in the groin during the melee.
