Back in 2012, Justin Bieber was accused of kicking and punching paparazzi photographer Jose Osmin Hernandez Duran outside of a Southern California shopping center. The following year, Duran sued the pop star, claiming that this encounter left him emotionally distressed, but the two have finally settled the lawsuit.
The trial for this case began on Wednesday and was also resolved that same day as Bieber took the easy way out and ended up just paying Duran out of pocket.
Sources close to the case have said that the 21-year-old singer would have ended up spending much more in attorney fees, so it made more sense for him to settle the case by just paying Duran directly. The exact amount was not released as it is in "legal nuisance territory."
Duran's attorney, Steven Madison, confirmed that the case had been resolved although he could not give any more details. Bieber's attorney, Howard Weitzman, on the other hand, has declined to comment.
The incident took place when Bieber was at the shopping center with his girlfriend at the time, Selena Gomez. While leaving the center, Bieber got out of his car and ran towards Duran, kicked him in his stomach and punched him in the face.
This isn't the first legal issue Bieber has had with paparazzi, either. In 2013, he and his body guard were sued by a celebrity photographer as Bieber had allegedly ordered his bodyguard, Hugo Hesney, to attack the paparazzo outside of Miami's Hit Factory recording studio. The photographer, Jeffrey Binion, had also claimed that the bodyguard stole his memory card.
Binion filed a police report stating that Bieber told Hesney "to throw the photographer up against a wall." He also said that Hesney choked him and lifted his shirt up to show that he had a gun. Following this attack, Binion claimed that he suffered bodily injury, pain and mental anguish.
"Justin Bieber is now an adult, and he should act like one," Binion's lawyer Russell Adler said at the time. "He needs to learn that he cannot use bodyguards as weapons to harm innocent people. Bieber's violent behavior toward photographers must end, and he should take responsibility for his actions...No amount of fame or fortune justifies Bieber's shameful and outrageous conduct. To send him that message and deter his misbehavior in the future, we will seek punitive damages against him as allowed by Florida law."
The two eventually settled the lawsuit in April 2015. It is unclear if an agreement was reached or if it involved a financial settlement.
