BEVERLY HILLS—On July 29, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge, H. Jay Ford III, signed a default judgment by the city of Beverly Hills against YouTube videographer, and promoter, Austin Broom and fellow video creator, Bryce Hall, from Miami. The defendants also include the promotors of the event, Shaeeraz Hasan, and his company, Fame, for using social media via YouTube and TikTok to lure people to a parade on May 29, 2021, in Beverly Hills.
Due to the number of spectators drawn to the event, the city had to close Rodeo Drive. The city filed suit against the social media giants to get compensation for the costs of clean-up and hiring additional police for crowd control.
Judge Ford awarded Beverly Hills an approximate total of $25,000 with $21,307 allocated for damages and $2,455 in costs.
BH’s legal counsel made a statement in defense of the city.
“The unruly parade littered trash and debris on city streets and turned chaotic and dangerous. The city was forced to expend significant sums of money to ensure the safety of the public and abate the nuisance with law enforcement and other personnel.”
Reports indicate that once the city learned of the additional spectators expected at the event and hired 35 Beverly Hills Police officers, Seven Santa Monica Police officers, 13 private security guards, and one helicopter. It took hours for security to disperse the crowd after the parade and to cleanup.
This was during the time of “The Battle of the Platforms, YouTubers v. TikTokers.” It was a challenge or a competition of sorts between the two groups to see who could gather the greatest crowd.
