A stalled criminal case against Kiefer Sutherland has found new life in civil court. The Uber driver who accuses the actor of threatening to kill him during a January ride filed a lawsuit this week, escalating the legal battle.
The suit alleges Sutherland, 59, was “visibly intoxicated” when he was picked up on Jan. 12 in Los Angeles, and that the ride home from dinner unraveled into threats and a struggle near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News in the days after the arrest that Sutherland punched the driver repeatedly and tried to choke him before the driver got out of the car. Sutherland has not publicly addressed those accounts.
Police arrested Sutherland that morning on suspicion of making a criminal threat, a felony, and released him on $50,000 bail within hours. Officers noted at the time that the driver did not require medical treatment.
The criminal side has gone quiet. Prosecutors have not filed charges, and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office sent the case back to police for further investigation earlier this year. The civil claim is the part now moving.
