Attorneys for Arnold Schwarzenegger have asked a Los Angeles judge for amped-up security at a forthcoming court date in which the former actor and politician is expected to testify.
The trial is set to determine the payout for Cheryl Augustine, who was involved in a 2022 four-vehicle traffic accident in which she claims Schwarzenegger’s reckless driving caused her significant, life-altering injuries. Earlier this month, Augustine’s lawyer Gary A. Dordick posted a mock-movie advertisement that included a description and photo of the 2022 incident as well as the time, date and location of the upcoming court date. The post also featured Dordick dressed like the Terminator, with the signature shades and leather jacket.
Now attorneys for the former action hero, 79, are requesting that court officials and law enforcement set up security protocols; disallow photography, video or audio recording; and tighten up who’s allowed in the courtroom.
The legal filing, obtained by The Times, argues that Dordick’s post “tells any one of Instagram’s three billion active users the date, time, street address, department number, and expected duration of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attendance at trial in a public courthouse.”
The filing acknowledges that the information is already publicly available but argues that the post “goes further, through a ubiquitous medium that does not call for a citizen to navigate the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s website.”
“Indeed, the post identifies Governor Schwarzenegger as the first witness,” the filing reads. “Whatever else may be said about the post, it is an advertisement for the appearance of one of the most recognizable people in the world at a fixed place and time, published five weeks in advance, by a person who has no responsibility for what happens when the audience shows up.”
In Augustine’s Beverly Hills Superior Court lawsuit, she claims that Schwarzenegger was negligent when his SUV sped through a left turn at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Allenford Avenue, and struck her Toyota Prius, along with a Porsche and another Toyota. At the time, Los Angeles police said that paramedics transported a woman who suffered a head abrasion to the hospital.
Schwarzenegger has admitted he was negligent but disputes the amount of damages Augustine is requesting. That total wasn’t immediately clear, but when the suit was filed in 2023, she reportedly was suing for damages as well as all medical and incidental expenses.
In 2023, the former governor and his GMC Yukon were the subject of another accident-turned-lawsuit. Joanne Flickinger sued Schwarzenegger for negligent driving which she claimed led to the biking accident that landed her with hefty medical bills.
The suit, reviewed by The Times, states that on Feb. 5, 2023, Schwarzenegger was driving “with excessive speed and failed to keep a proper lookout” on San Vicente Boulevard when his vehicle struck Flickinger, “causing severe injuries.” The suit further alleges that Flickinger’s injuries are “permanent.”
