Alec Baldwin has filed suit against a man he argued with over a parking spot and who he says invented a story that the famous actor "violently punched" him.
In the lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court, Baldwin demands damages from defendant Wojciech Cieszkowski for allegedly lying about their Nov. 2, 2018, curbside dust-up outside the actor's apartment building.
The "Saturday Night Live" regular was arrested after the incident for allegedly roughing up Cieskowski and was initially booked on suspicion of misdemeanor third-degree assault and harassment.
"When two New Yorkers get into an argument over a parking space, typically what happens is they exchange a few sharps words and then move on with their lives," Baldwin's attorney, Luke Nikas, wrote in the suit. "But that is not what happened here. Cieszkowski has instead made up a false story about the encounter."
Baldwin claims Cieszkowski lied to police and hospital nurses about the extent of his injuries.
"On the basis of that false report — about an incident the police never actually witnessed — Baldwin was falsely imprisoned, held against his will, and charged with a crime he did not commit," the suit says. "Unsurprisingly, the State later reduced those charges after finding no evidence that would support a conviction."
The suit adds, "But the damage had been done. Baldwin had been falsely imprisoned, and the false statement that Baldwin violently punched Cieszkowski in the face was reported in the news media."
Reached by telephone on Tuesday, Cieszkowski declined to discuss the matter.
“I don’t have any comments on any lawsuits at this time,” he told NBC News. "I have nothing to tell you."
Baldwin eventually pleaded guilty to a harassment violation, the lowest level of offense, and agreed to complete a one-day anger management class.
The actor admits to shoving the defendant twice but insists he never punched him.
"As they stood face to face in front of the parking meter and argued, Baldwin lightly pushed Cieszkowski in the chest with one hand. Cieszkowski would later falsely characterize this moment in court pleadings as 'Mr. Baldwin shov[ing] him hard in the chest with both hands,' " the suit says.
"A few seconds later, Baldwin pushed Cieszkowski a second time and Cieszkowski took a couple steps back. Cieszkowski’s under-oath account of this interaction — that Baldwin 'struck [him] in the left jaw with his right hand' — is also false and contradicted by video surveillance footage. In fact, as the footage shows, Baldwin did not raise his fist or make contact with Cieszkowski’s face."
