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The denial of a parking spot in the vendor area at the San Benito County Fair in 2024 has escalated into two lawsuits filed by Nick Gabriel in San Benito County Superior Court seeking a total of $225 million in damages and lost wages.
The claims were filed against San Juan Bautista-based Level 1 Security and the San Benito Health Care District, whose board Gabriel serves on.
Gabriel states in court documents that he lost his general surgeon job at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital because of the interaction with security personnel.
The latest lawsuit was filed on Dec. 11 against his former employer, the health care district, seeking $100 million, which alleges numerous labor law violations, breach of contract, defamation and wrongful termination.
Gabriel has had a tumultuous relationship with the health care district since he was elected to the board in November 2024. He was the lone candidate for the seat in District 5.
Earlier this year, the health care district questioned his residency and eligibility for the board, and suggested an investigation might be needed, but Clerk of the Board Laura Garcia told BenitoLink the district did not engage a third-party investigator as “sufficient documentation was received” to confirm his residency.
In the lawsuit against the health care district, he claims the district failed to perform its obligations under his contract but does not provide specifics.
“Defendant district’s pretextual termination of the employment of plaintiff Gabriel is false, derogatory and injured plaintiff’s reputation, both generally and with respect to his occupation,” the lawsuit alleges.
Gabriel also claims the hospital failed to pay him accrued compensation and furnish accurate itemized statements reflecting wages earned, hours worked and deductions.
District spokesperson Marcus Young said district officials cannot comment on any pending litigation.
According to the lawsuit against Level 1 Security filed in April 2025, Gabriel argues that an interaction with security personnel at the County Fair led to his defamation and employment termination.
He claims he was denied access to parking in the vendor area, even though he informed security personnel that he was the doctor on call for the emergency room and that he needed to park in an area that would allow him to leave quickly.
Gabriel says he told the security personnel “words to the effect, ‘God forbid that one of you would get shot and I couldn’t make it to the hospital to work on you,’” after he was denied access to the vendor parking area.
According to the lawsuit, the guard then stated, “Dr. Gabriel threatened not to work on us if we do not give him the parking space and are shot.”
“This statement made by the defendant Level 1 security guard is a slander per se against Dr. Gabriel inasmuch as it states that Dr. Gabriel would act unethically and unprofessionally if he were not provided the parking spot,” the lawsuit states.
It goes on to say the security firm “defamed” him to his employer.
“Dr. Gabriel was fired from his position as a surgeon at the Hazel Hawkins Hospital due to his allegedly having threatened to act unethically and unprofessionally at the county fair,” the lawsuit alleges.
Gabriel was a general surgeon at Hazel Hawkins between January 2022 and November 2024.
JT Tomlinson with Level 1 Security said the company had no comment but referred BenitoLink to its attorney, Michael Avramidis, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A case management and demurrer hearing is scheduled between Gabriel and Level 1 Security for March 2.
According to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, a demurrer is a document challenging the legal basis of the lawsuit, most commonly the failure to claim sufficient facts or a cause of action.
Gabriel and the health care district are scheduled for a case management conference on March 23.
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