Indian-American Siblings Awarded $9 Million Settlement in Assault Case

An Indian-American sibling duo have been awarded a record $9 million in damages for severe injuries sustained by them after they were attacked by metal bats during a brawl with two men in a night club in 2005.

Anuj Sapra and Arti Sapra won the judgement in Manhattan Supreme Court for the incident at the city club when the two men misbehaved with them and later beat them up with baseball bats.

The siblings' Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra said that the case "represents the serious fallout of New York clubs regularly serving under-age children excessive amounts of liquor, and such drunken state coupled with immature judgement, becoming a violent trigger for serious injury, or worse, near-death."

The court ruled against firm Ten's Cabaret, which owned the club, and awarded compensatory and punitive damages of over $8 million for Anuj Sapra and over $640,000 for his sister.

Mr Batra said the Sapras were harassed and assaulted by two men who were "under-age" but were still "illegally" served liquor by the club.

Mr Batra said while it took time, justice has been served to the Sapras after "traversing many a legal hurdle to get to this point."
    
Anuj Sapra sustained serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, facial fractures, internal bleeding, hearing loss and a fractured hand.

The men were subsequently indicted by a New York County Grand Jury, Mr Batra said.