“Fast & Furious” franchise star Tyrese Gibson and one of two other plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging racial profiling by Home Depot have dropped out of the case.
Gibson’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged civil rights violations and negligent hiring, supervision and retention. Two of the 46-year-old R&B singer/actor’s construction workers, Eric Mora and Manual Hernandez, also were plaintiffs in the suit, which sought more than $1 million in compensatory damages, the amount Gibson maintained he has spent over time at Home Depot. Gibson also sought punitive damages.
However, Home Depot lawyers filed court papers this week with Judge Upinder S. Kalra with signatures from Gibson and Hernandez asking that they be dropped as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, leaving Mora as the only remaining plaintiff. During a hearing Wednesday, the judge scheduled trial of Mora’s part of the case for April 1.
Gibson and the two other plaintiffs became self-represented last July 2, but Home Depot counsel told the judge that Mora said he will be hiring a lawyer.
During a previous hearing, Gibson was fined $250 for his failure to appear for an Oct. 16 hearing. Gibson faced a possible additional fine of $1,000 on Wednesday, but Kalra said the issue was moot since the actor dropped out of the case.
According to the suit, Gibson, “one of the most recognizable Black actors and musicians in the United States, and his associates … experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand inside the Home Depot retail store in West Hills.”
Gibson and his workers went to the Victory Boulevard store on Feb. 11, 2023, when Gibson, worried his fame could cause a distraction, had his construction workers pay for the items the three selected with his credit card while he went to his car, the suit states. However, Gibson returned to the store when the cashier declined to complete the transaction, according to the suit.
The cashier “gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating store policy and demanded to see a form of identification,” according to the suit brought in August 2023.
The manager refused to speak with Gibson and the transaction was completed only after a heated discussion with the cashier, according to the suit, which alleges the actions of the cashier and manager were racially motivated.
In previous court papers, Home Depot lawyers cited numerous defenses, including that the company’s actions were taken “in good faith, in accordance with business necessity, for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons.”
Home Depot “further denies any and all wrongful conduct, whether or not alleged in the complaint,” Home Depot lawyers further argue in their court papers while also denying that the plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages.