verdicts-and-settlements-article

Brown v. End Zone

$1.3M Verdict

Date of Verdict: May 10.

Court and Case No.: C.P. Philadelphia No. 1608-01029.

Judge: Marlene Lachman.

Type of Action: Personal injury.

Injuries: Loss of teeth, brain injury.

Plaintiffs Counsel: David P. Thiruselvam, KOT Law, Kunnel, Ortiz & Thiruselvam, Philadelphia.

Plaintiffs Experts: Thomas Gamba, dental, Philadelphia; Nirav Shah, traumatic brain injury, Princeton, New Jersey; Russell Kollins, security, Philadelphia.

Defense Counsel:  John A. Underwood, Underwood & Micklin, Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Defense Experts: Sander White, dental, Broomall; William LaTorre, security.

Comment:

An exotic dancer who lost eight teeth when a fight broke out in the club where she was working has been awarded about $1.3 million, including $500,000 in punitive damages, after a two-week trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

A Philadelphia jury awarded D'Anna Brown $1.3 million after she was struck in the face with a beer bottle during a melee in 2014, suffering a head injury and eventually losing eight teeth. The lawsuit, Brown v. End Zone, was tried before Judge Marlene Lachman.

The verdict included $800,000 in compensatory damages, $20,000 for fraud and an additional $500,000 for punitive damages, including $450,000 for negligent operation and another $50,000 for fraud.

Although the defendant, The End Zone Inc., which was doing business as Club Onyx, contended that the plaintiff, D'Anna Brown, had signed a release absolving the club, Brown's attorney, David P. Thiruselvam, said he was able to raise questions about the signature on the release and the fact the defendants were unable to produce the original.

Cherry Hill, New Jersey, attorney John A. Underwood of Underwood & Micklin, who represented the defendants, did not return a call seeking comment.

According to the plaintiff's pretrial memo, Brown, who was in her early 20s at the time of the melee, was working as an exotic dancer at Club Onyx as an independent contractor Aug. 10, 2014. Between 3:30 and 4 a.m., the club was continuing to serve alcohol to patrons in the VIP section, which the memo said, violated not only the law, but also specific protocols outlined in a consent order the Liquor Control Board had entered into with the club as a result of numerous prior incidences, the memo said.

The memo said the crowd in the VIP section became extremely rowdy and were acting visibly intoxicated. The memo said a security guard, Cameron Dean, gave the group multiple warnings, and eventually told them to leave. The crowd, according to the memo, erupted into violence, and at one point a bottle was thrown, hitting Brown in the face. Dean also suffered a head injury, and, although he brought a lawsuit that was consolidated with Brown's, his suit was eventually dismissed under the Workers' Compensation Act.

Thiruselvam said four of Brown's teeth were immediately knocked out and four others were so badly damaged they had to be removed later. She eventually had to have dentures installed, which cracked and had to be redone, Thiruselvam said. Brown, he said, also suffered a brain injury, which led to emotional distress, and she began living in her car for a time before working as a home health aide.

Brown contended that the club had failed to properly train its employees on how to spot drunkenness, it failed to have sufficient security guards, and it failed to properly train those security guards.

In its pretrial memo, the club contended that the events were unforeseeable and adequate security had been present. The memo also said Brown had signed a release and cashed multiple checks following the incident, which constituted a settlement barring the claims.

Thiruselvam said Brown acknowledged to the jury being paid nearly $1,400 following the incident, but she denied signing any release. Thiruselvam also said the company never provided an original, and the club manager gave differing answers for why the original was never turned over, but, Thiruselvam said, the jury rejected those claims.

Brown called Dr. Thomas Gamba as a dental expert, Nirav Shah as a traumatic brain injury expert, and Russell Kollins as a security expert. The defendant called Dr. Sander White as a dental expert, and William LaTorre as a security expert.

—Max Mitchell, of the Law Weekly