A nightclub on the city's Near West Side is facing a lawsuit from two Chicago residents who claim they were assaulted by security guards after getting kicked out when one of them tried to hop on a stripper pole.
Antonio Luna and Daniela China sued Met Partners Inc.-- doing business as Transit, a bar and dance club at 1431 W. Lake St.-- Wednesday in the Cook County Circuit Court.
According to the complaint, Luna and China were at Transit on March 24, 2013, when Luna "playfully attempted to mount a dancing pole" and was told to leave because it was against the establishment's rules.
Luna claims that despite not being aggressive or resisting, security guards "physically grabbed" and removed him, China and other members of their group. The bouncer, the suit states, then "punched, kicked, bruised, wounded and ill-treated" Luna and China, causing injuries.
The duo's suit accuses the defendant dance club of negligently hiring security guards it knew or should have known were overly aggressive and failing to properly train them on how to escort a patron out of the bar.
They also claim the defendant, through its security guards' handling of them, was negligent. In the alternative, the suit includes a battery count alleging that the club's security guards intentionally assaulted and battered the pair.
Luna and China are seeking more than $50,000 in damages and are represented by Bradley A. Skafish and Jeffrey S. Deutschman of Deutschman & Associates in Chicago.
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 represents only one side of the story.