Deleon v. Nolan

Full title: Joel Deleon v. Robert Nolan et al

Court: Superior Court of Connecticut

Date published: Dec 14, 2015

CV136047130S (Conn. Super. Ct. Dec. 14, 2015)

Opinion

CV136047130S

12-14-2015

Joel Deleon v. Robert Nolan et al

David M. Sheridan, J.

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

David M. Sheridan, J.

The plaintiff Joel Deleon alleges that during the evening of November 7, 2011, and into the early morning hours of November 8, 2011, he was a patron at Club NV, a nightclub establishment located at 177 Allyn Street, Hartford, and owned by the defendant BJA Company, Inc. (" BJA").

The plaintiff alleges that while on the premises of Club NV, he was assaulted by an agent, servant and/or employee of the defendant BJA, and placed in a " choke hold, " causing him to lose consciousness. Thereafter, the plaintiff alleges that he was forcibly removed from Club NV by an agent, servant and/or employee of defendant BJA and bodily thrown down three or four cement steps and left unconscious on the sidewalk. As a result, the plaintiff alleges he sustained injuries including a right wrist fracture and facial abrasions.

The plaintiff attributes his injury to the defendant BJA's failure to operate the club in a safe manner, by carefully hiring and properly training its staff so as to prevent injury to patrons.

This matter was tried to the court on December 11, 2015. Testimony was heard from five witnesses. Seven exhibits were admitted.

To establish his cause of action for negligence the plaintiff is required to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant's conduct was a cause in fact and the proximate cause of his injuries. Baruno v. Slane, 151 Conn.App. 386, 399, 94 A.3d 1230, 1239 (2014). Proof by a preponderance of the evidence amounts to a showing that a particular fact is more likely than not to be true, or a particular event was more likely than not to have occurred. See Lopinto v. Haines, 185 Conn. 527, 533, 441 A.2d 151 (1981).

This court, having carefully reviewed the documentary exhibits and evaluated the demeanor and credibility of the witnesses, having analyzed and weighed the evidence according to the applicable standards of law, finds that the plaintiff has failed to meet his burden of persuasion. Specifically, the plaintiff has failed to prove it was more likely than not that certain critical events--such as the " choke hold" and his being " thrown" down a set of steps--occurred as he has described.

The court finds the issues for the defendant. Judgment enters for the defendant BJA Company, Inc.