A federal jury awarded a quarter-million dollars to a man who said he was severely beaten by NBA All-Star Allen Iverson’s entourage at a downtown D.C. nightclub.
The jury of nine Washington residents determined that Iverson failed to keep his bodyguard, Jason Kane, from assaulting Marlin Godfrey at the Eyebar nightclub in 2005. The jury, which deliberated for 13 hours over three days, determined that Iverson and Kane were not liable for assaulting the other plaintiff, David Anthony Kittrell.
Godrey was awarded $250,000 for pain and suffering and $10,000 for medical bills, which included care for a broken eardrum. The jury was deliberating late Monday to consider punitive damages for Godfrey.
Godfrey and Kittrell, both of Maryland, sued for $20 million, claiming that Iverson’s entourage beat them after the two men refused to leave the VIP section of the Eyebar club.
Iverson and Kane said they were not involved in a brawl and immediately left the bar as soon as the fight broke out.
Iverson, a Denver Nugget and former Georgetown Hoya, testified last week that he had never seen his accusers and claimed they were suing him as a way to get rich quick.
Iverson, 32, faces a similar lawsuit over an alleged assault by his security team at a Hampton, Va., nightclub. That incident occurred less than two weeks before the one in Washington.
