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LOS ANGELES -- Attorneys representing a man who said he was the victim of a"brutal and unjustified physical attack" by Scottie Pippen filed a $4-million lawsuit Thursday against the former NBA All-Star in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Camran Shafighi, 49, suffers from headaches, nausea, breathing difficulties and other ongoing medical issues as a result of an altercation involving the luxury car business owner and the former Chicago Bull great, said his attorney Lee Boyd.
She said the suit is an effort to compensate the Malibu area resident for those problems in addition to economic losses because he is unable to run his business.
"This has been pretty devastating to him," Boyd said in an interview Thursday. "This was not the result of some drunken barroom brawl. This is a guy who wanted to take a picture with a cellphone."
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives are continuing to investigate the alleged assault involving Pippen that took place June 23 at Nobu Malibu restaurant in the 22700 block of Pacific Coast Highway.
At one point, Pippen was being sought by deputies for a possible arrest. But Pippen, who is represented by attorney Mark Geragos, voluntarily spoke to investigators and was allowed to leave without being arrested.
Sheriff's officials said Pippenwas cooperating during the interview. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said witnesses told deputies that the other man in the altercation with Pippen, whom he did not identify, appeared to be intoxicated.
But Shafighi's attorney disputed that contention and said he only requested a picture for the 12-year-old son of his girlfriend. For his trouble, Boyd said Pippen knocked him to the ground with a single punch to the head and then kicked him on the ground while unconscious "in the head, chest and body."
Pippen then left the scene in his Range Rover without alerting medical personnel about Shafighi's medical condition or being interviewed about his role in the fight or assessed by deputies with regard to his blood-alcohol level, Boyd said.
Pippen, whose NBA career spanned nearly two decades, is best known for his 11 seasons with the Chicago Bulls, during which he and Michael Jordan led the team to six championships in the 1990s. He was part of the much-revered Dream Team that won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics and earned another gold at the 1996 games.
He works as a special adviser to the Bulls' president and chief operating officer, according to his Facebook page.
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