A New York man who filed suit against The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the Marquee nightclub, and Roof Deck Entertainment LLC, in 2014 for an attack that allegedly occurred in 2012 was awarded $160 million by a jury Wednesday.
David Moradi, who the year before the attack made $11 million managing a hedge fund, suffered traumatic brain injury when the Marquee manager and security staff allegedly ‘back roomed’ him, old Vegas-style, and repeatedly smashed his head into the concrete floor trying to get his ID and credit card from him. He had already paid his bill at the club that was over $10,000, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Defendants contend a dispute arose over the bill and that Moradi tried to headbutt one of them before he was detained.
“The Marquee security members and manager shoved David to the ground, causing his head to forcefully hit the concrete surface,” stated the suit. “The Marquee security members and manager repeatedly hit and smashed David’s head into the concrete and continually held his head and right eye against the concrete with a high degree of pressure.”
The five-week long trial is expected to conclude today after the jury decides punitive damages in the case. Punitive damages go beyond simple compensation and are meant to punish the defendant in civil cases.
Of the $160 million in compensatory damages the jury has already awarded, Moradi will receive $23 million for loss of past earnings, $79.5 million for future loss of earnings, $20 million for past pain and suffering, and $38 million for future pain and suffering.
Moradi contends that because of his injuries, which were initially diagnosed as a concussion on the night of the incident, and later confirmed to be a traumatic head injury by a Las Vegas neurosurgeon, the $1 billion hedge fund he managed was shut down and he has not been able to find new work in his field. Moradi allegedly also received a bruise to his right eye, swelling of the head, and soreness in his arms, knees, and neck.
The Review-Journal reports that a couple attending a company party at the Marquee a few months after Moradi’s incident claim they were also assaulted. That case still awaits trial.