THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240403
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Maybe comedian Martin Lawrence is right: There is a thin line between love and hate.
A guest at Lawrence's bachelor party last year says he made a toast to the groom-to-be, Lawrence didn't like it, choked him, shouted insults, then smashed him on the head with a bottle of Dom Perignon.
He does not say what the toast was.
The accusation is contained in a lawsuit in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. A Virginia Beach man, Fentreal Ferebee, seeks $2 million in compensatory damages plus $1 million in punitive damages from Lawrence for the alleged attack.
It is the first time anyone has publicly accused Lawrence - star of the TV sitcom ``Martin'' and the movie ``A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' - of instigating the brawl that broke out at his bachelor party in January 1995.
Lawrence could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His publicist in California asked that all questions be submitted in writing, by fax, but she did not answer them.
Ferebee reported the attack to police immediately. At the time, police said they did not think Lawrence was involved. After an investigation, police concluded that Ferebee's report was unfounded. No one was charged.
Ferebee's lawyer, Barton N. Daniel of Norfolk, said he assumes police did not charge Lawrence because there were so many conflicting eyewitness statements. Daniel said his client did nothing to provoke the assault.
``He was just thanking (Lawrence) for marrying someone from this area and wishing him well,'' Daniel said. ``He didn't say anything about her. Absolutely no derisive remarks.''
Lawrence married hometown beauty queen Patricia Southall of Chesapeake, a former Miss Virginia-USA, at the Waterside Marriott Hotel in Norfolk on Jan. 7, 1995. The wedding attracted 600 guests and 500 gawkers.
The night before, Lawrence was honored with a bachelor party at the Professional Club, an after-hours spot on Witchduck Road. Police reported that a fight broke out around 1:30 a.m., that Ferebee was hit on the head and he was treated at Sentara Bayside Hospital.
In his lawsuit, Ferebee says he proposed a toast to Lawrence at the disc jockey's booth, but Lawrence ``apparently took great umbrage to the Plaintiff's most gracious and sincere toast.''
The lawsuit says Lawrence grabbed Ferebee by the throat with his right hand and shouted, ``You don't know me very well, nigger, to be putting these shout outs.''
Ferebee says he then tripped on a step and fell to the ground, and that someone held him down while Lawrence hit him on the head with a glass bottle, according to the lawsuit.
In a police report, Ferebee said the weapon was a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne.
Daniel said his client suffered stitches in the head and a bloody tuxedo, but no other injuries. He said Ferebee did not know Lawrence, but was a disc jockey originally scheduled to work the party. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
The lawsuit claims Martin Lawrence smashed a bottle over the
plaintiff's head.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT ASSAULT by CNB