STAMFORD — A Delaware man accuses the producers and security team behind Jerry Springer’s latest reality show, “Judge Jerry,” of failing to intervene in an attack he says resulted in serious injuries to his body. following a recording in October 2020.
James Papi, 71, has been asked to guest star on ‘Judge Jerry’, an arbitration-based reality TV show chaired by Jerry Springer, to settle an ongoing contract dispute between him and Sean Posey Lakins, who hired Grandpa’s company to do work in his Delaware home.
Lakins claimed that Papi and his subcontracting team left the site without completing the project, according to the original lawsuit. In a countersuit, Papi alleged that Lakins threatened to assault members of Papi’s contracting team.
During the broadcast, Springer ultimately awarded Lakins half of the damages he was seeking in the original lawsuit. But, according to a new lawsuit, after Lakins’ televised victory – which is legally binding and cannot be appealed in a common pleas court – Lakins punched Papi in the face as he got into his car in the parking lot outside Stamford’s Studio NBC Universal Media.
The attack, according to the lawsuit, left Papi with a broken jaw, a broken nose, a hematoma and several knocked out teeth.
Now, Papi is suing NBC Universal Media, Allied Universal Security and Stamford Media Center and Productions for “substantial pain and suffering” he says was inflicted on him as a result of the attack.
Attorney Michael Skiber, who represents Papi, says the team behind ‘Judge Jerry’ “essentially instigated” the attack on his client by bringing the two individuals onto the show, cheering them on and failing to provide a adequate security thereafter.
“‘Judge Jerry’ had these two people at each other’s throats in an adversarial environment, then when it was over they allowed the assailant to seriously harm my client. Security didn’t did absolutely nothing to prevent that from happening after the show,” Skiber told Hearst Connecticut Media.
Stamford Media Center, Allied Universal Security and NBC Universal did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
The lawsuit claims the attack and resulting injuries were the direct result of negligence and negligent security on the part of NBC Universal (the media company that operated the show), Stamford Media Center (where the broadcast is recorded) and Allied Universal Security (the security company used during the recording).
“Some or all of his injuries may be permanent in nature, have caused and will continue to cause him great pain and suffering, mental distress, limitation of movement and loss of his ability to participate in all the activities that life has to offer. to offer,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims that the show’s security, who escorted the two men to their cars, failed to separate the two guests, although “they knew or should have known that the guests of the shows Jerry Springer used to be physically aggressive with each other.”
Skiber claims in the lawsuit that, despite being warned of Lakin’s “violent animosity” towards Papi, security did not prevent the two guests from meeting after check-in, nor did they intervene when Papi was attacked.
“As a direct result of NBC’s negligence and recklessness, and particularly due to the lack of such security, control and/or difference, an abuser could and did physically assault and beat plaintiff, thereby causing serious and permanent injury and damages to him,” the lawsuit said.
