A Venice man who was once charged in the death of a Santa Monica bar manager has moved his fight from criminal to civil court, filing a lawsuit against Los Angeles County, the city of Santa Monica and the state of California that alleges malicious prosecution, civil rights violations and defamation.
Leonard Korpie filed the complaint in August, seeking economic and non-economic damages, along with punitive damages, according to court records. The case is separate from a wrongful death lawsuit still pending against Korpie in Santa Monica.
The dispute stems from a June 11, 2024, altercation outside Jameson's Irish Pub at 2702 Main St. Korpie claims he was a patron at the bar when he was asked to leave and complied with the request. After he exited the premises, he said he was physically assaulted on the sidewalk by Jaysent Clark, the pub's manager. In his complaint, Korpie has maintained he used only reasonable force to defend himself.
Santa Monica police have offered a different account. In the days after the assault, SMPD said a fight broke out when Clark asked Korpie and others to leave. Once on the street, SMPD’s report said Korpie punched Clark, knocking him unconscious. Clark later died at the hospital. All three patrons were initially arrested but only Korpie was charged with murder.
A judge later reduced the charge, ordering him to stand trial on voluntary manslaughter. Prosecutors, acting on behalf of the county, announced last year that they could not proceed with the case.
Court records show the case was formally dismissed Sept. 8, 2025, under California Penal Code Section 1385. As of May 2026, the case had been sealed and Korpie's arrest expunged from his record, according to his complaint.
In his new complaint, Korpie alleges the county, city and state pursued the prosecution despite having no probable cause and continued the case even after they knew or should have known it would end in his favor. He claims the agencies failed to conduct an independent investigation and that evidence — including video footage and multiple witnesses — supported his claim of self-defense from the outset. Korpie is seeking damages for what he describes as lost wages, damage to his reputation, and emotional distress stemming from the yearlong prosecution.
The lawsuit also targets Santa Monica separately over public statements made after Korpie's arrest. It alleges that a police lieutenant defamed Korpie in comments to the media when describing the incident as a single punch that likely caused Clark to hit his head on the way down and that the incident showed how alcohol can turn a minor infraction into something life changing.
Korpie's complaint alleges those statements were false and that city representatives failed to use reasonable care to verify them before speaking publicly. Santa Monica has yet to file answers to the initial complaint.
Meanwhile, a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Korpie by Clark's siblings, Jesse Clark and Trina Clark, continues to move through Santa Monica Superior Court. That case, filed Jan. 16, 2026, also names RMG Sunset Inc. and Jamesons SM LLC, the companies the Clarks allege own and operate the pub, as defendants. The complaint accuses Korpie of battery and accuses the corporate defendants of negligent hiring and supervision, alleging they failed to protect patrons and staff and were negligent in staffing security personnel capable of de-escalating volatile situations.
Korpie has since filed his own cross-complaint against RMG Sunset and Jamesons SM, alleging the companies negligently hired and supervised Clark and other staff and seeking apportionment of any fault found against him. RMG Sunset has denied liability in both the original suit and Korpie's cross-complaint, raising dozens of affirmative defenses, including arguments that it exercised reasonable care and had no duty to provide heightened security absent evidence of prior similar incidents at the pub.
According to an Aug. 14 joint status report filed with the court, the parties have exchanged several rounds of written discovery, though no depositions have yet been taken. The Clarks have subpoenaed records from the Santa Monica Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, according to the filing.
Hearings in the wrongful death suit are currently set for November.