A man who attended a “Hello Kitty Night” at Dodger Stadium in 2023 is suing the team, alleging security guards handcuffed and ejected him as he inquired about getting a second bobblehead doll that he hoped to give to his girlfriend.
Mark Findler’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges civil rights violations, assault, battery, negligence and negligent hiring, retention and supervision. Findler seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the suit filed Friday.
A Dodgers spokesman said Sunday that the National League team had no comment.
Findler and a friend went to the stadium on Aug. 3, 2023, to see the game between the home team and the Oakland A’s and both were given a promotional Hello Kitty bobblehead doll by the staff at the upper northeast gate, the suit states.
Findler saw other patrons with more than one doll, so he asked the staff if he could get another for his girlfriend, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff was advised to go to a different entry gate and obtain a second one.
Findler allegedly was given a hostile reaction by the attendant at the first alternate gate and was told he was given wrong information, but the staff member also allegedly mentioned to the plaintiff that “if he had a problem” he could speak to an employee in a black hat, whom Findler assumed would be a supervisor.
But Findler was unable to locate anyone with a black hat and he returned to the employee at the second gate for help and she again told him, “Oh well, you got some bad information” and did not give him further assistance, the suit states.
Findler gave up and was inside the stadium when he was grabbed from behind by two security team members, including one with a casual business suit and the name tag “Rey,” then handcuffed and ejected, the suit states.
Findler, who was not told why he was forced to leave, was injured during the interaction and the guards joked that they could not find the key to unlock the handcuffs when he complained they were too tight, the suit alleges. When they did remove the cuffs, the guards told Findler he would be arrested if he tried to re-enter the venue, the suit states.
Findler has suffered lost income and emotional distress because of the encounter with the stadium guards, according to his suit.