A man accused of knocking out the director of an insurance company at a pub for no reason, has conceded guilt.
|||Durban - A man accused of punching and knocking out the director of an insurance company for no reason has conceded that he did it - and he may have to pay a heavy price.
This is a massive win of justice,” Zack Buchan told The Mercury on Thursday when, on the second day of a trial in which he is suing for R500 000, his attacker, Clint Barnard, conceded liability and agreed to pay his costs of the case so far on a punitive scale.
The Mercury reported on the start of the case before Durban High Court Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel this week when Buchan, a director of The Unlimited Group, gave evidence about the unprovoked assault which took place at the Keg and Trout in Hillcrest in June 2013, at a gathering of Kearsney Old Boys.
Buchan said he had been talking to a woman, whom he had met for the first time, when Barnard, whom he did not know, walked up and punched him in the face, breaking his nose.
Barnard, an insurance broker, then laid a charge of assault against Buchan which was withdrawn after a magistrate viewed footage from a CCTV camera in the pub.
Buchan also laid charges against Barnard, and the criminal trial is ongoing.
Judge Ploos van Amstel viewed the video footage and heard the evidence of Taryn Miller, whom Buchan was talking to that night, who described in detail how Barnard had pulled his fist back before hitting Buchan with force.
Barnard, in pleadings, claimed that he was acting in self-defence and feared for his life, because Buchan had “raised his glass” at him.
On Thursday Barnard did not attend court, leaving his lawyers to negotiate on his behalf.
Regarding quantum, Buchan said: “They made me an offer. It would not be right to disclose the amount and terms. What is important is that I did not accept. My claim plus my legal costs are in excess of R1 million and I intend to actively pursue this claim to finality.”
Buchan said he intended laying further criminal charges because of alleged irregularities in the criminal trial.
The Mercury
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.
