Joe Schilling’s alleged victim Justin Balboa is moving forward with his pursuit of justice. The 31-year-old has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the fighter and the establishment where his viral knockout took place.
As his co-attorney Rich Conforti told MMA Fighting, Balboa is seeking damages over $30,000 each from Schilling and Bro Management Las Olas LLC, the corporate entity behind B Square Burgers in Fort Lauderdale. The total damages are said to be north of $100,000.
“We’ve initiated the lawsuit, the defendants are in the process of being served,” Conforti said. “We believe Mr. Balboa has considerably high-damages claim for what has happened based on the actions of Mr. Schilling and the negligence of Bro Management.”
Through his legal counsel, Balboa went on to claim that he was “viciously attacked, physically struck and assaulted” by Schilling on that June 27 night. The lawsuit, which was filed on July 1st, stated that he was left with “severe injuries.”
Balboa also tagged Schilling as “uniquely skilled and trained to be brutally efficient and abnormally dangerous with his bare hands” with “a history of being involved in street altercations … including using physical force against third parties.”
As for the establishment, Balboa stated that it was located in a high crime area that was no stranger to such incidents and that it “created unsafe conditions by failing to provide adequate security.”
A recent police video showed a seemingly bloodied Balboa just moments after the incident, saying “people are chasing” him and that Schilling “wanted to kill” him. Apparently, he went to the police station a day later to press charges, saying the presence of the camera and Schilling uploading the video to social media could be proof that it was “premeditated.”
MMA Fighting also noted that this isn’t Balboa’s first lawsuit against a bar for a physical altercation. He apparently did the same thing in 2013, where he sued the now-closed Andy’s Lounge and Package for more than $15,000, claiming negligence for failing to stop the assault on him from a year prior.
Balboa claimed he was blindsided by a punch and stomped on “for minutes” by five individuals as he “laid on the ground defenseless.” He alleged that one patron held a knife to his throat while another attempted to choke him.
He says he was then dragged outside to be beaten up further until someone yelled out that the police were coming. It was then he supposedly hid behind a dumpster.
Like how he did with B Square Burgers, Balboa claimed that Andy’s Lounge was “well-known for fighting and other disturbances.”
As for Schilling, he says he acted in self-defense after fearing for his own safety. Nonetheless, he is facing one misdemeanor charge of simple battery.
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