A BARRISTER, one of a group of lawyers assaulted outside a Sligo discotheque five years ago, had his Circuit Court award of £10,000 damages increased to £12,000 by the High Court yesterday.
The damages are to be paid to Mr Richard Lyons (30) by Elm River Ltd, proprietors of the Grand Hotel, Sligo, and Ms Mary Gilmartin, described as owner and occupier of the hotel.
The hotel operators appealed an award of £10,000 damages and costs made by Judge Harvey Kenny last June to Mr Lyons.
Mr Justice Barr, having described the behaviour of the disco security staff as disgraceful, yesterday upheld the award of £10,000 and granted an additional £2,000 "exemplary" damages.
The claim arose from an incident when about 12 lawyers went to "Zanados" discotheque at the Grand Hotel on November 6th, 1991.
They were, said the judge, a distinctive group. Unlike other patrons the men were formally attired in suits and ties.
They noticed several people in a group at the bar and one man stared in a menacing fashion and continued to "eyeball" them.
One of the lawyers pointed out to a security man what was happening but no action was taken; a Donegal solicitor complained he was concerned for the safety of his group but security men assured him they knew the men and there would be no problem.
The first two lawyers to leave were confronted by four or five people, including, the man who had been menacing the group. They asked a security man to open the door but it remained shut.
One lawyer was knocked to the ground, suffered a fractured jaw and other injuries. He shouted for help, got none, and crawled back into the lobby of the hotel between the legs of a doorman. Another lawyer who left was given no warning. He was kicked knocked to the ground and suffered a broken jaw and other injuries.
Mr Lyons got no warning or advice from the security men. When he saw his friends being brutally assaulted he asked the bouncers to help. They did nothing.
He was thrown into a corner, kicked in the head and elsewhere. He suffered a sprained wrist, head injury, cuts and bruises.
Mr Justice Barr said the senior security man contended the bouncers had no responsibility for the safety of patrons once they left. He and other security men got instructions that, in the event of trouble outside the building, they should not intervene and would be committing an offence if they did so.
The judge said Mr Lyons, having paid a cover charge, acquired contractual rights which contained no special terms limiting the common law liability of the hotel operators to patrons.
There was an obligation to employ competent security personnel and to instruct them adequately; an obligation to deal adequately with complaints; to advise Mr Lyons not to leave until it was safe; to take reasonable steps to rescue him and his companions and not prevent them re entering the premises while under attack.
Knowing a vicious, grievous assault was in progress and that only one garda officer was on duty, the security staff had a duty to intervene to rescue victims and if necessary to take reasonable steps to subdue their attackers.
The behaviour of the bouncers was disgraceful. "It amounted to a conscious and deliberate failure on their part to take any steps to protect Mr Lyons from vicious thuggery", said Mr Justice Barr.
Not only had they no interest in Mr Lyons's safety, but they deliberately exposed him to a high risk of brutal assault, of which they were well aware. Such conduct justified an award of exemplary damages.