Suit: Security guard at theWit Hotel headbutted man, punched another

Five people are suing a River North hotel over allegations one of its security personnel assaulted them outside.

Bryan Asbury, Olivia Lintz, Anthony Englander, Ashima Chuahan and Vincent Battaglia filed a lawsuit Sept. 18 in Cook County Circuit Court against ECD Great Street, doing business as theWit Hotel, and Lloyd Morris, individually and as an employee of the Wit.

According to the complaint, Asbury and Englander were standing on the sidewalk outside the hotel on North State Street on June 7, when Morris, a security employee of the Wit, allegedly approached them, headbutted Asbury and punched Englander.

The plaintiffs claim Battaglia, Lintz and Chuahan exited the hotel to see the altercation, and when Lintz attempted to intervene, she was thrown onto the ground by Morris and other unknown security personnel, then choked and handcuffed.

Englander, the suit alleges, was also handcuffed while Battaglia, Asbury and Chuahuan were forced to retreat across the street while their friends were held.

The plaintiffs further claim Morris alleged he was a police officer, but showed no identification, and other personnel of the hotel led them to believe that the police had been called and were en route when, in fact, no call had been made.

Asbury, Englander and Lintz accuse the defendants of assault and battery, while Chuahan and Battaglia accuse them of assault. The suit also includes a count for false imprisonment on behalf of Lintz and Englander.

The plaintiffs are seeking more than $50,000 in damages and are represented by attorney Michael LaMonica of Fisher & LaMonica in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L009759.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it only represents one side of the story.