Two Illinois men say they were beaten up during a wedding reception at a Fairview Heights hotel.
Brian T. Rasmussen, Tyler B. Bennett and Crystal M. Rund filed a lawsuit June 29 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Richard B. Crothers and Timothy Edwards. Ramada Worldwide Inc. is also named as a defendant.
Rasmussen, Bennett, Rund, Crothers and Edwards were all guests at the same wedding reception in July 2011, according to the complaint. The reception was held at the Ramada Fairview Heights on North Illinois Street. Alcoholic beverages were served, the complaint states.
Sometime during the reception Rasmussen says he was standing out front of the hotel by himself when he was attacked from behind and hit in the head by Crothers and Edwards. Rasmussen alleges he that fell to the ground and that Crothers and Edwards continued to hit him until he was unconscious.
Bennett claims he tried to stop the attack but says Crothers smashed his face into the pavement. Rund, Bennett's wife, says she was subjected to severe emotional distress when she found her husband lying in a pool of blood on the sidewalk.
Rasmussen, Bennett and Rund accuse Crothers and Edwards of battery and contend Ramada Fairview Heights violated Illinois's Dram Shop Act by overserving alcohol to the defendants. Rasmussen, Bennett and Rund ask for more than $350,000 in damages for medical expenses, lost wages and court costs.
They are represented by attorneys Sean Cronin of Belleville and Timothy Cronin of St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 12-L-339