Wedding brawl in Fat Catz Music Club results in lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS – A number of St. Tammany residents filed suit against a New Orleans music club for injuries they claim to have received in a brawl with the club's employees.

Dwayne Lewis, Kristen Lewis, Rabecca Lewis, Ashlie lewis, Devin Lewis, Trenton Roy, Gerard Lacour, Austin Tolleson and Jason Broome filed suit on Jan. 20 in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court against Fat Catz Music Club, its owners and a number of its employees.

The plaintiffs claim they were celebrating a wedding at the Bourbon Street music club at 1:30 a.m. when they were assaulted by employees working there. The plaintiffs claim the defendants fabricated a story which they relayed to police that resulted in the temporary arrest and detainment of all plaintiffs except for Broome who was taken into custody and charged with aggravated battery.

The plaintiffs are accusing the defendants of failing to properly train their employees in the use of force, failing to screen their employees for violent propensities and prior incidents of excessive force and battery, improperly hiring violent employees, failing to discharge violent employees, failing to appreciate the harm and physical injury their actions would have on the plaintiffs and mistakenly identifying the plaintiffs as individuals that were assaulting the defendants.

An unspecified amount in damages is sought to cover Broome's $6,000 in legal costs and his personal injuries, pain and suffering, mental anguish and medical expenses. Additional damages are sought by the other plaintiffs for humiliation, embarrassment and damages to their reputations. The plaintiffs are also claiming false arrest and malicious prosecution stemming from the incident.

The plaintiffs are being represented by New Orleans-based attorney Gary W. Bizal of Pierce and Bizal.

The case has been assigned to Division G Judge Robin M. Giarrusso.

Case number 2012-00603