San Jose City Councilman Bien Doan has been denied a request for a restraining order against a well-connected Vietnamese-American businessman, capping a trial that has exposed the political rancor of Little Saigon’s older generation.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Eric Jefon ruled Wednesday that there was insufficient evidence that bail bondsman Hai Huynh, whom Doan described as having ties to organized crime, posed a threat to Doan’s safety.
Doan claims that Huynh has been aggressive and threatening at least three times since he was elected to the San Jose City Council, and has installed security cameras and a metal gate at his home, but Geoffon doubts any of those incidents rise to the level of criminal intimidation or genuine fear.
His decision was based not on witness statements or recollections during testimony but on hard evidence, namely a series of text messages exchanged between Huynh and Doan in June 2023 in which Huynh warned the city council member about the defamation lawsuit.
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Text messages exchanged in June 2023 between Hai Huynh (left) and San Jose City Councilman Bien Doan (right).
“It has been nearly seven months since Rep. Doan expressed concern for himself and his family after receiving threats,” Rep. Jefon said of the exchange. “Rep. Doan’s response is indicative. He has not acted as if he is concerned… This is not a situation in which petitioner has been nervous.”
Doan declined to comment on the decision.
Huynh said he feels his innocence has been proven.
“I’m very happy. This is the right verdict,” Huynh told San Jose Spotlight outside the courthouse. “I’ve been trying to expose the communists in the city of San Jose for a long time, and people have been trying to silence me.”
In closing arguments, Huynh’s lawyers argued that Doan’s request for a restraining order was a political move tied to a larger battle of loyalties and lasting divisions among refugees who remember the Vietnam War.
“Unfortunately, we have a problem in our community. We are not united,” Huynh’s lawyer, Minh Steven Dovan, said in closing arguments. “That is the truth.”
Dovan said much of the recent animosity between Huynh and Doan stems from Doan’s attendance at a 2023 celebration hosted by the Vietnamese American Business Association, a group that some local residents, including Huynh, see as sympathetic to the Vietnamese government.
The group’s president, David Duong, CEO of Cal Waste Solutions, appeared in court Tuesday and testified that Huynh is viewed by many in the community as a gangster-like “godfather” figure. Duong is another prominent Vietnamese American businessman whose company’s political activities in Oakland are the subject of an FBI search warrant.
Duong became caught in the middle of a dispute between Doan and Huynh when he set up a meeting at Paloma Cafe in the Grand Century shopping mall last September. Doan claims Huynh said in Vietnamese, “You better be afraid of me.” Huynh’s lawyers denied saying that. But Duong backed it up with his own testimony.
The trial featured prominent Little Saigon figures who testified, including county supervisor candidate Betty Duong, flag-raising ceremony organizer Ha Chuu and Vietnamese media reporter Nghe Luu.
Maren Close, the chief deputy city attorney for San Jose, who represented Doan, denied that Doan’s request was politically motivated. Close said Huynh had been in close proximity to Doan in public on multiple occasions. She also expressed concern about the fact that Huynh surrendered his weapon to police after a court granted Doan a temporary restraining order for the duration of his trial. The temporary order expired Wednesday.
“This is not about a disagreement over who supports whom,” Close said during the hearing. “Rep. Doan should not be able to perform her duties as a member of Congress in fear.”
Jae Phong acknowledged that Doan’s request was not politically motivated. But he also didn’t believe the nasty portrait Doan painted of Huynh. He pointed to the fact that Huynh held various business licenses that would not have been granted if he had a questionable history. He refuted the idea that Huynh was a godfather with ties to crime.
“There’s no evidence that that’s true,” Geoffron said.
Contact Brandon Pho [email protected] Or @brandonphooo on X (formerly Twitter).
Editor’s note: Cal Waste Solutions contributed to San José Spotlight.
