A FOOTBALL coach who was violently thrown out of a pub by a bouncer, while innocently enjoying his pint, has been awarded £112,000.
Lee Jarvis had to retire early from training his kids football team after a security guard assaulted him unprovoked “like something from a Tom and Jerry cartoon.”
The doorman, at McQueen nightclub in Shoreditch, east London, left the 40-year-old with “very significant, intrusive and disabling symptoms”, a court heard.
Central London County Court was also told how the football coach’s reputation was almost destroyed after he was unjustly prosecuted for assault after punching the attacker in self defence.
Prosecutor Adam Samuel explained the emotional trauma of the attack and said his client experienced: “humiliation, distress, indignity and injury to his feelings.”
His barrister added that the injury meant that “at a relatively young age, Mr Jarvis will be prevented from fully undertaking an active role in his chosen career.
“He suffered from a significant adjustment disorder with anxiety, which was acute for six months, and exacerbated temporarily – with the stress of criminal proceedings – giving rise to a total of nine months’ clinically significant symptoms in total.”
CCTV footage of the incident was played which showed the complainant being thrown out of the nightclub fire door.
Judge Gerald, presiding over the damages trial, described the video and said Mr Jarvis was: “flung out of the nightclub fire door almost like an excerpt from a Tom and Jerry cartoon.”
Mr Samuel told the court: “While the claimant was present in the premises enjoying a drink with a friend, he was approached by one of the doormen and ejected from the premises.
“As he was complying with the doorman’s instruction to walk to the exit, he was pushed towards a fire door and forcibly thrown down a set of steps, suffering a meniscal tear to the left knee.
“Immediately following the assault, and while being threatened by the doormen, the claimant threw several punches – found by the judge at the criminal trial to have been in self-defence.
“Due to the defendants’ employees’ completely unjustified reporting of the claimant as the guilty party, the claimant was arrested and charged with assault.”
The assault by door staff caused a meniscal tear in Mr Jarvis’ left knee and stopped him doing “hands-on coaching,” as well as accelerating degenerative changes in his knee.
As a result of the injury, the coach had to hire another employee to take over training on the pitch.
This massively reduced his income, and more importantly took away his opportunity to explore the career he was passionate about.
During the brawl, Mr Jarvis had thrown a punch at one of the bouncers after getting up from the ground, and anxiously waited for months to see if he would be prosecuted.
He suffered from a significant adjustment disorder with anxiety, which was acute for six months, and exacerbated temporarily – with the stress of criminal proceedings – giving rise to a total of nine months’ clinically significant symptoms in total.”
Prosecutor Adam Samuel
Eventually, he was acquitted of assault by a magistrate at Highbury Magistrates’ Court in April 2016, retaining his good name.
Judge Gerald told the court: “Had he been found guilty, that would have been the absolute end of his career.
“That caused him unnecessary stress, because he was literally fighting for his livelihood and a job for which he had a great passion.”
After the ordeal, Mr Jarvis sued M Zurich Europe Ltd – which was responsible for security on the door – over the assault which hindered his coaching career.
The security firm was found liable for his injuries at a previous civil trial in April 2019, but until Judge Gerald’s ruling, still disputed the amount of compensation claimed.
At the criminal trial, the doorman provided no evidence on why Mr Jarvis had been thrown out, said his barrister, adding: “It was accepted that the claimant had ‘been pushed out of the fire exit from behind and had grabbed the doorman as he was propelled by the doorway to try and break his fall’.”
The judge ordered M Zurich Europe Ltd to pay £112,000 in damages for the assault, which took place in November 2012.
And he concluded the complainant had been on the receiving end of an “unwarranted prosecution” and that he was “put through the wringers” by M Zurich Europe.
“Mr Jarvis feels deeply wronged by the defendants,” added the judge.
“It seems very obvious that the reason he feels so deeply wronged isn’t just because the career he loved in life was taken away from his by an unjustifiable assault – but also because he then had his whole career challenged by an unwarranted criminal prosecution, and then by a trial on liability on an issue which had no proper basis.”
