Eugene man with cerebral palsy sues 7-Eleven owners over alleged assault
Eric Matute, who has cerebral palsy, says two 7-Eleven clerks chased and assaulted him outside the East 13th Avenue store.
A Eugene man with cerebral palsy is seeking $1.5 million after he says two 7-Eleven clerks chased him out of the East 13th Avenue store and assaulted him during a July 2025 dispute over torn cash.
Eric Matute filed the lawsuit Monday against United Unlimited Dreams Inc., the company named in the complaint over the 7-Eleven at 296 E 13th Ave. Matute says he went into the store to make a purchase, but the cash he tried to use was torn. He says the argument that followed with two clerks escalated outside the store, where the workers chased him and attacked him. A bystander stepped in, and Matute was taken to the hospital.
Eugene police responded at the time and cited one clerk for assault. Officers also cited Matute for disorderly conduct. What began as a routine convenience-store transaction has now become a civil case that puts a local business encounter under a sharper legal lens.
The case also raises disability-access questions that go beyond a one-off fight. Oregon law and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act require reasonable accommodation in places open to the public, and Disability Rights Oregon says people with disabilities in Oregon are protected from discrimination in businesses that serve customers. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries also says state and federal law prohibit disability discrimination in places that do business with the public.
That matters at a 24-hour store on East 13th Avenue, a busy corridor near downtown and the University of Oregon where people expect to make quick, ordinary purchases without confrontation. For shoppers with visible disabilities, a routine interaction can turn risky fast if staff do not de-escalate correctly or treat a customer fairly.
The East 13th Avenue 7-Eleven has already drawn scrutiny in a separate incident, when employees were accused of holding a customer at gunpoint and one worker was arrested for menacing and unlawful use of a weapon. Taken together, the episodes have raised broader questions about how safely local stores handle conflicts, especially when a customer may be more vulnerable and the stakes rise in seconds.
Matute’s lawsuit now asks a Lane County jury, or a judge if the case does not reach trial, to weigh not just an alleged assault, but whether a Eugene business met the basic standards of safety and lawful treatment people with disabilities can realistically expect in an everyday public space.
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