Dam Vinh Hung Lawsuit: Dismissal, Countersuit, and Current Status

The Dam Vinh Hung lawsuit is a personal injury case the Vietnamese singer filed in October 2024 against American businessman Gerard Richard Williams III, seeking $50 million after Dam Vinh Hung fell from a decorative fountain at Williams’ Newport Coast, California estate and injured his foot. The singer voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice weeks later, then filed a sworn affidavit in June 2025 claiming he was tricked into signing the dismissal. As of late 2025, the dispute is back in Orange County Superior Court after a failed attempt to move it to federal court.

What the Lawsuit Is About

On February 19, 2024, Williams let a friend use his Newport Coast mansion for a private Vietnamese New Year celebration. An outdoor concrete fountain was being used during the party as a makeshift stage and bar. It collapsed while Dam Vinh Hung was performing on it, and he sustained serious foot injuries.¹

Accounts of the severity vary. Some reports said he lost several toes; a friend of the singer said he permanently lost three. Photos he posted in March 2024 showed four toes bandaged. He reportedly experienced muscle atrophy, difficulty balancing, and an inability to stand for more than an hour at a time, and he canceled performances scheduled for March and April 2024.²³

After the accident, Williams and his wife, Vietnamese-born singer Bich Tuyen, drove Dam Vinh Hung to the emergency room. Williams later said he paid $29,580 across two payments toward the singer’s hospital bills and spent tens of thousands more repairing the fountain.⁴ The three had been friends. Williams and Bich Tuyen visited the singer during his recovery, and Williams attended one of Dam Vinh Hung’s concerts in Vietnam in May 2024.⁵

The friendship ended when the demands started. On October 9, 2024, Dam Vinh Hung sent a demand letter requesting $20 million, with plans to seek at least $50 million at trial. On October 31, 2024, he filed a civil suit in Orange County Superior Court (Case No. 30-2024-01436961-CU-PO-CJC), alleging Williams failed to properly inspect and maintain the fountain. The complaint sought compensation for medical costs, lost earnings from canceled performances, and emotional distress. Williams and Bich Tuyen declined to negotiate, calling the singer’s demands “neither fair nor reasonable,” and moved all communications to their lawyers.⁶⁵

The Dismissal and the Fight to Undo It

On December 2, 2024, Dam Vinh Hung voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit “with prejudice.” Under California law, that designation permanently bars a plaintiff from refiling the same case and effectively ended the court’s jurisdiction over it.⁷

Williams’ attorney Marco Molina of BakerHostetler said the withdrawal followed video evidence that undermined the singer’s claims: footage from the party showed Dam Vinh Hung voluntarily climbing onto the fountain, which was not designed to bear anyone’s weight. The defense also pointed to the singer’s touring schedule after the incident, noting he performed roughly 27 concerts across the United States and Vietnam in 2024.⁷

Dam Vinh Hung tells a very different story. In a 15-page sworn affidavit filed in Orange County Superior Court in June 2025, he alleged Bich Tuyen and Williams deceived and psychologically manipulated him into signing the dismissal. He said the couple invited him to a restaurant after the lawsuit was filed and then brought him to their Newport Beach home, where they and associates pressured him to drop the case. According to the affidavit, they threatened to report him to tax authorities and immigration officials, launch a social media campaign against him, and target his mother and son.⁸⁹

The core of the singer’s claim is about the dismissal document itself. Dam Vinh Hung said he is not proficient in English and has no knowledge of American law, so he relied on Bich Tuyen for translation and legal guidance. He said she gave him a template email that he believed was a request to temporarily pause the lawsuit while the parties resolved the matter privately. He alleges Bich Tuyen inserted the phrase “with prejudice,” which legally converted a temporary suspension into a permanent dismissal, and that he did not understand what those words meant until he spoke with a lawyer afterward.⁸¹⁰

Bich Tuyen denied the allegations, saying specifically that she and her husband would “never threaten Mr. Dam Vinh Hung’s son and family.”¹¹

Williams’ Countersuit and the $2 Demand

Williams filed his own countersuit in Orange County Superior Court, alleging that Dam Vinh Hung recklessly damaged his property by climbing a fountain that was not built to hold a person’s weight. He asked for exactly $2 in damages: $1 for property damage and $1 for legal fees. His real demand was a formal apology to restore his family’s reputation. As of December 2024, the cross-complaint totaled 338 pages, including emails, text messages, and images that his team said refuted the singer’s account. Williams eventually dismissed his counterclaim, though the file does not fully detail the circumstances.⁴¹²

The Federal-Court Detour

The case briefly generated a fight over which court should hear it. On August 7, 2025, Williams’ team tried to move the case to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, arguing that diversity of citizenship between a Vietnamese citizen and a claimed Missouri resident gave the federal court jurisdiction. It was docketed federally as Hung Huynh v. Gerard Richard Williams III (Case No. 2:25-cv-07351).¹³

Dam Vinh Hung’s attorneys objected on September 4, 2025, arguing Williams actually lived in California. That mattered because of the forum defendant rule, which bars a defendant from removing a case to federal court if they are a citizen of the state where the case was filed. On September 27, 2025, Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian sided with the singer, finding Williams had not met the requirements for federal jurisdiction and ordering the case sent back to Orange County Superior Court. She denied Dam Vinh Hung’s request that Williams pay his attorney fees for the removal attempt, ruling the removal was improper but not entirely unreasonable. Each side was ordered to bear its own costs.¹⁴¹³

Where the Case Stands Now

The litigation is unresolved. The original suit is back in Orange County Superior Court. A July 7, 2025, hearing was set for Williams’ motion asking the court to formally recognize the December 2024 dismissal with prejudice and to decide whether he is entitled to reimbursement of legal costs. Dam Vinh Hung’s sworn affidavit opposes that motion and asks the court to overturn the dismissal on the grounds that it was obtained through manipulation. A formal hearing on that dispute was reportedly scheduled for September 22. The singer has changed lawyers, hiring a Vietnamese-speaking legal team to take the case forward.⁶⁸

Separately, Williams filed a defamation lawsuit in Harris County, Texas, against three YouTubers he alleges conducted a smear campaign against him and Bich Tuyen in December 2024. He is seeking damages, a retraction, and a public apology. That case is distinct from the personal-injury dispute in California.¹⁵

1
VnExpress. Singer Dam Vinh Hung Hospitalized Following Stage Fall in US
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Vietnam.vn. Dam Vinh Hung Mat Gan Ca Ban Chan
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Lao Dong. Bich Tuyen Xac Nhan Clip Dam Vinh Hung Nga Dut Ngon Chan
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VnExpress. US Businessman Sues Vietnamese King of Bolero Dam Vinh Hung for Damaging His Property, Demands $2 Compensation
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VnExpress. American Businessman and Singer Wife Decline Negotiation in Lawsuit by Vietnamese King of Bolero Over Party Injury
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EIN Presswire. July Court Hearing Announced for Lawsuit Between American Businessman Gerard Richard Williams III and Vietnamese Singer
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EIN Presswire. American Businessman Responds to Dismissal of $50M Lawsuit Filed by Vietnamese Singer
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Vietnam.vn. Dam Vinh Hung To Vo Chong Ca Si Bich Tuyen Lua Doi Thao Tung Tam Ly
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Thanh Nien. Dam Vinh Hung To Vo Chong Ca Si Bich Tuyen De Doa Thao Tung Rut Don Kien
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Tuoi Tre. Dam Vinh Hung Noi Khong Ranh Tieng Anh Luat My Nen Bi Vo Chong Bich Tuyen Lua Doi
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Lao Dong. Bich Tuyen Noi Chong Ti Phu Soc Ton Thuong Khi Doc 15 Trang Tuyen The Cua Dam Vinh Hung
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Vietnam.vn. Dam Vinh Hung Tai Xuat Mo Nhat Sau Khi Bi Cam Hat 9 Thang
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PACER Monitor. Hung Huynh v Gerard Richard Williams III
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Lao Dong. Ca Si Dam Vinh Hung Thong Tin Ve Vu Kien Voi Chong Bich Tuyen
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Vietnam.vn. Ong Gerard Williams Tiep Tuc Kien Them Nguoi Lien Quan Vu Dam Vinh Hung Doi Boi Thuong Theo Toa An Quyet Dinh