THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150433
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
A bar patron who said he was beaten on the head and face with beer bottles by another patron won a $2.5 million jury verdict Tuesday against the assailant, the bar, the bar's security company and a bar bouncer.
The Circuit Court jury awarded Tod T. Meyer $1.5 million in compensatory damages against all four defendants. It also awarded $1 million in punitive damages against only the assailant, Jung S. Cha. Meyer, now 25, was in the Navy. Cha was a student at ODU.
Meyer claimed he was beaten by Cha at the 4400 Campus Club on Hampton Boulevard on Nov. 22, 1992. He said Cha attacked him without provocation, hitting him repeatedly on the face and head with beer bottles, hands, fists and an arm cast.
After the assault, Meyer claimed that a bar bouncer, N. David Cox, threw him out of the bar but did not summon medical help, even though Meyer was unconscious and in danger of choking on his own blood. Meyer said Cha continued to attack him outside the bar.
Meyer now has five metal plates in his face and is working temporary jobs in Minnesota, said his attorney, Carl J. Khalil of Norfolk.
Cha did not attend the trial and was not represented by a lawyer. The others asked the judge to set aside the verdict and award.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT AWARD SETLEMENT ASSAULT by CNB