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Nathan Tonelli is suing the owner of Squamish’s Chieftain Hotel and Pub after allegedly being attacked by MMA fighters outside the property.
A local businessman is suing the owner and operator of Squamish’s Chieftain Hotel and Pub, along with several others, claiming he was viciously attacked and beaten by a group of drunk mixed martial arts fighters outside the bar in August 2017.
According to Business Vancouver, Nathan Tonelli filed the civil claim in British Columbia’s Supreme Court on June 27, 2019, naming the Chieftain Hotel and Pub, staff members Taylor Bruneski, Megan Kass, mixed martial artists Taran Bir and Indroop Virk, and The Sound Martial Arts, along with owners and instructors Wayne Lefebvre, Johnny Thomaidis, Kasey Smith, Vance Shaw and Mike Nasu.
Tonelli alleges that Virk and Bir, along with an unnamed third person, were training at the The Sound Martial Arts on August 10 before drinking to the point of intoxication at the aforementioned pub. Tonelli claims that the group left “with open bottles of alcohol and stood just outside of the front entrance to the Chieftain where they harassed and intimidated and tried to pick fights with passersby and others exiting the Chieftain.” The report also claims the assailants “were members of a group of young South Asian men” who enjoyed “starting fights with intoxicated strangers in or outside various licensed bars and pubs in the Squamish area.”
The businessman revealed that he was attacked and beaten by Bir, which left him with a brain injury and skull fracture.
Tonelli’s lawsuit claims that The Sound Marital Arts is also liable for damages because they trained the assailants in the “use of potentially lethal MMA fighting techniques.”
The claim stated that “The Sound Partners owed a duty of care to the Plaintiff and other members of the public to ensure that Taran Bir, Indroop Virk and John Doe were educated and instructed on the ethical responsibilities that being imbued with MMA skills entailed, including not using those skills irresponsibly, casually, or offensively against untrained, unskilled or unprepared persons for sport or enjoyment.”
Tonelli is seeking damages for assault, battery, and negligence.