Newport Beach man who says he’s banned from South Coast Plaza sues in attempt to get back in

A Newport Beach man who says he was banned from South Coast Plaza until 2022 for window shopping is suing the Costa Mesa luxury shopping mall in an effort to regain access.

Dale Phillips, a former homeless man who now works for ride services, wrote in his April lawsuit that he was a frequent visitor to South Coast Plaza from 2015 to 2017 and “engaged in window shopping, eating and drinking, reading and partaking in the South Coast Plaza experience.”

Phillips contends that on April 5, 2017, he was approached by two uniformed security guards in the mall who told him they’d “had complaints” about him and alleged he had stared into the Rolex watch store for an hour without making a purchase.

Phillips wrote in the civil complaint, which also names Rolex Watch USA as a defendant, that he was issued a “trespassing warning” that barred him from the mall and its parking lots until April 2022. He said he faces arrest for trespassing if he returns.

Phillips is alleging discrimination, deprivation of due process and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He’s seeking to be granted access to the mall along with the costs of the lawsuit, court documents show.

The suit, which was originally filed in Orange County Superior Court, was moved to federal court in Santa Ana in May at the behest of South Coast Plaza’s attorneys, according to court records.

Attorneys for the mall argued in a motion filed Thursday that the suit should be dismissed because Phillips has not presented sufficient evidence to prove his case.

A South Coast Plaza attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday. Mall spokeswoman Debra Gunn Downing said, “We respectfully decline to comment.”

Phillips, referring to himself in the third person, wrote in his complaint that he has “suffered bouts of depression over the incident, having been banned from one of his favorite places. The strong emotions of fear and puzzlement exist until this day.”

He said he has “emotional mini-meltdowns from the thought of an Uber or Lyft customer asking him for a pickup and/or drop-off at South Coast Plaza.”

Phillips wrote that he bought clothing and other merchandise from the mall when it was financially possible, but since his funds were limited, he often pondered his purchases over several visits.

“Rolex, through its individual and shared advertising efforts with South Coast Plaza, induced [Phillips] to engage the company in a business relationship, directly and subliminally instructing him to partake in the dream of exclusivity and through an association with their brand through ownership of their fine watches, whether now or in the future,” he wrote.

Rolex Watch USA, based in New York, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Judge Andrew Guilford is expected to hold a hearing on the case July 30, according to court records.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN