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NEWSWIRE
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Jury sides with defendant in spin-class altercation |
By John Craig, Editor - 06.05.2008
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NEW YORK - A jury on Monday acquitted a 45-year-old stockbroker of assault charges for roughing up another gym member who was shouting exuberantly during a spin class.
But a lawyer for the victim said he now plans to file a civil lawsuit against the defendant, Christopher Carter, and Equinox Fitness, where the incident took place last summer.
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"My client was badly hurt in this spin class, and whether he was annoying or not, there's an important principle at stake about what gym owners are supposed to do in a situation like this," said Samuel Davis, who represents Stuart Sugarman, 49.
"The staff at the club didn't react in a timely manner," Davis said. "The instructor should not have left the room to get a manager."
Judy Taylor, vice president of public relations for Equinox, declined to comment on the case.
The altercation between Carter and Sugarman took place last August at an Equinox club in Manhattan's Upper West Side, as Sugarman yelled things like "You go, girl!" and "Good burn!" during a spin class.
Carter said he twice asked the instructors to ask Sugarman to quiet down. When Sugarman continued shouting, Carter swore at him. Sugarman fired back, witnesses said, prompting Carter to walk over to Sugarman's bike, lift it and then drop it to the floor. Sugarman said the force of the bike hitting the floor caused a herniated disc in his neck, and led to a two-week hospital stay.
During the criminal trial in Manhattan District Court, a lawyer for Carter acknowledged that he grabbed and shook Sugarman's bike.
But jurors said they could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt whether Carter was the cause of Sugarman's back and neck problems.
"Probably, most likely, but not definitely," one juror, Marybeth Roman, told the New York Times.
Some jurors seemed to side with Carter.
"I was like, 'Why must he be obnoxious and disrespectful to the others?'" Roman, a 20-year-old student, told the newspaper.
In her closing arguments, assistant district attorney Brigid Harrington told the jurors that Sugarman was not someone "you would want to hang out with regularly," but she said that should not be a factor in deciding the case.
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