$9 million judgment upheld in Crazy Horse Too assault
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a $9 million judgment against former topless club owner Rick Rizzolo stemming from a 2001 incident that left a Kansas man a quadriplegic.
Rizzolo, former owner of the Crazy Horse Too in Las Vegas, appealed a lower court ruling in favor of Kirk Henry, who was injured during an altercation with bouncers at the strip club over an $80 bar tab. His attorney argued that the judgment should be overturned because of a rule requiring a trial to commence within five years.
But in an opinion written by Justice Michael Douglas and supported by five other members of the court, the lower court ruling was affirmed. Justice Kristina Pickering voluntarily recused herself from the case.
Douglas said in the opinion that the settlement language agreed to by Rizzolo and Henry was unambiguous and required the payment of the $9 million to Kirk Henry and his wife, Amy.
Attorney Donald Campbell, who has represented the Henrys, has already recovered some money for his clients and is seeking even more.
Kirk Henry, who spoke Thursday on a conference call with his wife Amy, said he is pleased with the ruling and the effort Campbell and his legal team have invested in the case over the past 12½ years.
“It’s been very expensive with the care givers and the medications I have to take,” he said. “My family has been through a lot. It feels good at least to get the court ruling in our favor.”
Amy Henry echoed her husband’s praise for Campbell.
“It’s a great day,” she said. “He has never given up. Even when it looked bleak a few years ago.”
Campbell said that due in large part to the physical therapy work by Amy Henry, her husband can move some fingers on each hand and, as a result, can drive a modified vehicle. Almost 13 years ago Kirk Henry was on a ventilator and the thought was he would be confined to a bed for the rest of his life, Campbell said.
“Thanks to Amy and God that is not the case,” he said.
Kirk Henry said he has been able to watch his children grow up.
Campbell said he has been able to obtain a sum of money for the Henrys in a settlement with Rizzolo’s ex-wife over funds traced to the Cook Islands.
While he would not disclose the amount of the settlement, “the sum has gone a long way in making significant progress to helping the Henrys with the medical care,” he said.
Campbell said other funds, in the seven figure range, are being pursued through Rizzolo’s father and his estate. The funds have been attached but the matter is on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the case before the court, Don Carvalho, Rizzolo’s attorney, argued that even though a settlement agreement had been reached between Rizzolo and Henry in 2006 to pay him a total of $10 million for the assault in September 2001, the agreement kept Rizzolo at risk of trial until the full amount was paid.
Because the potential of a trial remained, the five-year rule should apply, he said.
Campbell told the court during oral arguments in November that the five-year rule did not apply to the case.
Campbell argued that the case was not going to trial because a settlement was reached. Campbell took the case to Clark County District Court in 2011 and had the settlement turned into a judgment because of Rizzolo’s continued failure to make good on the agreement, he said.
“This is nonsense; this is sophistry,” Campbell said of Carvalho’s argument to the court.
After the November hearing, Campbell had harsh words for Rizzolo.
“In my experience Mr. Rizzolo is one of the most despicable human beings I have ever dealt with in my professional career either as a prosecutor or as a civil litigant,” he said.
Rizzolo has engaged in “every form of chicanery there was to be had, and is completely unrepentant and without any contrition for what he has done,” Campbell said. “And this case is just a continuation of that.”
Campbell said an initial $1 million payment to the Henrys was almost immediately consumed for medical bills.
Carvalho could not be reached for comment.
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Follow him on Twitter @seanw801.
