Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is pursuing compensatory and punitive damages from his neighbor who attacked him last fall for the “physical pain and mental suffering” he endured from the incident.
In a civil lawsuit filed Friday, claims that Paul has “increased likelihood of, and susceptibility to, injury and disease and … he has been deprived of his enjoyment of life” as a result of the attack. The lawsuit argues that the attack was “unnecessarily cruel, malicious, willful, wanton and evinc(ing) a total reckless disregard for (Paul’s) rights, life and liberties.”
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The lawsuit also requests that a judge order an injunction that would prevent Paul’s neighbor Rene Boucher from contacting Paul or Paul’s family members.
Boucher pleaded guilty in March to assaulting a member of Congress, which occurred after Paul collected yard waste near their property line.
Several of Paul’s ribs were broken following the episode, and he continued to contract pneumonia following the incident.
Boucher’s lawyer, Matt Baker, will continue to represent him in this dispute.
“To the best of my knowledge, Sen. Paul has not suffered any loss of any income and doesn’t appear that he will in the future,” Baker said, per Bowling Green Daily News. “It was established at the sentencing hearing that he does not have any out-of-pocket medical expenses in this case, and at some point after the incident he told Fox News in an on-camera interview that he has not taken any prescription pain medication, and so all that is to say we’re going to defend this civil suit just like we would any other and see if we can get it resolved as efficiently as possible.”
Boucher was sentenced to 30 days in prison earlier this month, but Paul suggested a longer sentence would have been more appropriate.
“No one deserves to be violently assaulted. A felony conviction is appropriate and hopefully will deter the attacker from further violence,” Paul said in a statement. “The original 21 month sentence requested would have been the appropriate punishment. I commend the FBI and Department of Justice for treating this violent, pre-meditated assault with the seriousness it deserves.”
