MESA, Ariz. — Another lawsuit was filed Monday in response to ongoing teen violence in the East Valley.
JoBeth Palmer, on behalf of her son, is suing nine people, including teens and their parents, for alleged assault, battery and civil conspiracy, according to court documents.
The complaint alleges a group of teens harassed, threatened and attacked Palmer's son over the span of seven months. In May 2023, the complaint says the victim was attacked at a park in Mesa. He was surrounded, punched, kicked and slammed to the ground. A video of the attack was posted online.
"The threats and harassment only stopped when one of the defendants was incarcerated for his role in the attack," the complaint states.
Palmer's lawsuit follows a similar civil lawsuit filed last week by the father of a teen who was assaulted at a Gilbert In-N-Out last year.
RELATED: Father of teen violence assault victim files lawsuit against 'Goon' suspects, their parents
Palmer alleges the group who harassed and assaulted her son is part of the larger "Gilbert Goons" group and that one of the defendants allegedly sent a text to the victim admitting he set up the first attack and threatened another.
The victim would receive "dozens of threatening texts from two burner phones in the months that followed," the complaint says.
"JoBeth and her son choose to only sue those within the Gilbert Goons who threatened and attacked him directly but reserve the right to amend the complaint to add other conspirators should circumstances warrant," the complaint says.
The complaint calls the incidents a "terror campaign" and alleges the parents of the teens involved were negligent in doing anything to stop it.
Palmer is seeking general damages but didn't name an amount.
There have been at least a dozen arrests in connection with group teen violence cases in the East Valley. See all of 12News' teen violence coverage here.