THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601200276
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
A jury awarded $1.6 million Friday to former major league baseball slugger Glenn Davis for the broken jaw he suffered in a 1993 barroom beating in Virginia Beach.
The federal jury ruled that bar bouncer Samuel C. Hampton, a 27-year-old professional heavyweight boxer, committed assault and battery when he punched Davis three times in the face in the parking lot of Club Rogues on June 7, 1993.
The jury deliberated 2 1/2 hours before awarding Davis $1.5 million in compensatory damages, plus $100,000 in punitive damages and $17,434 for medical bills.
After the verdict, Davis said he would give the money to charity. ``It was never a money issue,'' he said.
The verdict was against Hampton personally and the corporation that owned Club Rogues. Although the popular Oceanfront bar closed in 1994, and owner Nabil Kassir is in prison after a 1995 tax evasion conviction, the loss apparently will be covered by insurance.
The verdict was a vindication for Davis, who lost his criminal case two years ago. At that time, Davis was pressing misdemeanor assault charges against the bouncer. A Virginia Beach judge acquitted Hampton, saying there was reasonable doubt about his guilt because witnesses offered various versions of events.
Most of the same witnesses testified during the six-day civil trial in Norfolk's federal court. This time, however, Davis' case was buttressed by two new witnesses: a pair of former Navy men who were customers at the Oceanfront bar and saw the fight.
The two men traveled from Michigan and New Jersey to testify that Hampton threw the first punch, that he hit Davis twice when the ballplayer was on the ground, and that he celebrated after the beating by thrusting his fists into the air, letting out a whoop and slapping a high-five with another bouncer.
One juror, Melvin C. Torian Jr. of Norfolk, said the last two punches were the deciding factor.
``One punch was sufficient, according to most of us,'' Torian said after the trial. ``Once somebody's down, you don't have to hit him two more times.''
He said most jurors believed the testimony that Hampton celebrated with a whoop and high five. But, he added, ``We all thought Mr. Davis was a Type A personality and probably brought it on himself.''
There was little celebrating in the courtroom after the verdict. Davis simply smiled broadly and turned to his wife, Teresa, sitting in the front row. His attorney, David M. Zobel, slapped Davis on the shoulder.
``All my family and I wanted was to clear my name for the record,'' Davis said later. ``I wanted it to be an example to this community and this country that violence is not the way to solve an issue.''
Zobel said the verdict sends a message to area bars.
``The message is that bouncers have to exercise restraint and know where the line is when they're doing what they think their job is,'' Zobel said. ``Bouncers in a liquor establishment have a difficult job to maintain order but it doesn't give them license to muscle people off the property or push people when they don't like what they're doing.''
Hampton and his attorney, Edward L. Breeden III, had no comment.
After the verdict, Breeden asked Judge Henry C. Morgan Jr. to set aside the jury's decision, but the judge declined. ``I think the evidence amply supports the verdict,'' he said. Breeden had no comment on whether he will appeal.
Davis, 34, was one of the top power hitters in baseball in the late 1980s with the Houston Astros. He finished second in the National League's Most Valuable Player voting in 1986, and was earning $3.75 million a year with Baltimore in 1993 when Hampton broke his jaw. But Davis' career was on the skids at the time. He had been demoted by the Baltimore Orioles to the minor leagues a few days earlier. He was hurt most of the previous three seasons, missed games and hit few home runs.
His salary went from $3.75 million in 1993 to $40,000 in 1994 with Omaha. Davis claimed that was because he missed so much playing time after the broken jaw. Hampton's lawyer claimed it was because he was coming off three straight bad seasons. Davis played in Japan last year for $1.3 million, and will play there again this year for slightly more money.
The fight at Rogues began around 1 a.m. between another bouncer and Davis' teammate, Randy Ready, who may have been drunk. The bouncer put Ready in a headlock or chokehold to move him out of the parking lot and Davis tried to pull the bouncer off.
Hampton pulled Davis away and the two confronted each other. Witnesses for Hampton said Davis threatened the bouncer and put his hand around Hampton's throat or poked him in the neck. But witnesses for Davis said he was simply wagging a finger at Hampton when the bouncer attacked. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
The jurors ruled that a bar bouncer committed assault and battery
when he punched baseball, Glenn Davis, left, three times in the face
in the parking lot of Club Rogues in Virginia Beach on June 7, 1993.
KEYWORDS: VERDICT AWARD by CNB