Opinion ID: 2745053
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Nightclub Altercation

Text: According to declarations submitted in opposition to defendants’ motion to dismiss, on February 26, 2010, plaintiffs reserved a table in the VIP section of the Fur Factory Nightclub, located at 33 Patterson Street in Northeast Washington, D.C. At around 11:30 p.m., they arrived at the club. There were no security personnel in the VIP section. 3 While in the VIP section, Short slipped and fell, knocking over a bottle of vodka which belonged to another group of patrons at a nearby table. Plaintiffs’ repeated offers to pay for a new bottle were refused. Over the next fifteen minutes, tension increased between the two groups. At one point, one of the other patrons flashed gang signs at plaintiffs. About twenty minutes after Short slipped, one of those patrons finished the remaining liquor in the bottle of vodka and broke it over Short’s head. The assailant and his friends then attacked plaintiffs with broken bottles. The fight lasted ten to fifteen minutes. There were no security personnel in the VIP room when the fight began, and the cameras in the room were not working. Club security personnel arrived after the fight was over, but they did not attempt to determine who started the fight. The assaulting patrons left without being identified or questioned. Security personnel escorted plaintiffs out of the club, but did not offer any medical assistance although plaintiffs were visibly bleeding. Plaintiffs went to Washington Hospital Center to have their injuries treated. 4