Lawyers for YouTube personality Jack Doherty are asking a judge to allow them to end their representation of the YouTube personality, who was sued by a man who alleges Doherty ordered his bodyguard to beat him up during a live-streamed Halloween party.
“Professional consideration requires termination of the representation,” Doherty attorneys Courtney M. Serrato and Olivia Zorayan state in court papers filed Tuesday with Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Michael R. Amerian in advance of a Nov. 23 hearing. No further explanation was given. Plaintiff Chase Cameron Gardella’s suit is scheduled for trial on March 29, 2027.
Gardella, who since the alleged attack has become a practicing lawyer, names as defendants Doherty, Jack Doherty LLC, Banger Official LLC and the bodyguard, Justin “Kane Kongg” Goslee. The suit’s allegations include assault, battery, negligence, negligent hiring, retention, supervision and training, aiding and abetting, unjust enrichment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Doherty, now 23, hired Kongg as his defender and to participate in content in 2023 because he wanted to profit off of Kongg’s tendency to engage in violent behavior, Gardella’s lawyers allege.
Before leaving for a party in October 2023, Doherty and Kongg viewed a video of Kongg knocking a woman unconscious while providing security for a previous employer, according to Gardella’s attorneys’ court papers. Inspired, Doherty sought ways to encourage Kongg to engage in violent behavior in order to impress his viewers and instructed Kongg to fight the plaintiff, then celebrated that he got good content, Gardella’s lawyers further contend in their court papers.