NASSAU, BAHAMAS: A Supreme Court judge has found a nightclub owner liable for an assault on a patron who suffered a serious hip injury and now requires total hip replacement surgery.
Madam Justice Cheryl Bazard KC found Devon Sawyer, proprietor of Daddy D’s Nightclub, vicariously liable for the actions of two security officers who assaulted Hudson McClean during a February 19, 2022 incident. Damages are to be assessed by the Registrar, with costs awarded to McClean to be taxed if not agreed.
McClean had sought $400,000 in general damages, $290,000 in special damages and $50,000 in exemplary damages, along with $88,000 in legal practitioner’s fixed costs. However, the judge rejected several components of the special damages claim because they were not sufficiently proven.
The case arose from McClean’s allegation that he was struck from behind by security guards while speaking with Sawyer. McClean said he later found himself on the ground outside the establishment in severe pain. Medical examination subsequently revealed a right transcervical neck of femur fracture.
Sawyer denied the allegations in his defence, maintaining that he was initially attacked by McClean and acted in self-defence. He also alleged that McClean was intoxicated and that security personnel did not attack him, but merely intervened to separate the men and prevent the situation from escalating.
However, Sawyer did not participate in the trial or call evidence in support of those assertions.
The judgment noted that Sawyer’s attorney, Devard Francis, appeared at the November 11, 2025 hearing without Sawyer or any witnesses and advised the court that he had not prepared skeleton arguments as required by an earlier case management order. Francis subsequently exited the court after being advised that the trial would continue.
As a result, McClean’s witnesses gave evidence without being cross-examined and no evidence was presented on Sawyer’s behalf. Justice Bazard stressed, however, that McClean still had to prove his case on a balance of probabilities.
The judge ultimately accepted McClean’s evidence and found that he was unlawfully assaulted by Sawyer’s security personnel. She determined that the assault was sufficiently connected to the security officers’ assigned duties to make Sawyer vicariously liable.
The ruling also noted that Sawyer had previously pleaded guilty in Magistrate’s Court in October 2022 to causing harm and was fined $500. Justice Bazard made clear, however, that the criminal conviction did not determine the civil claim, with liability instead decided on the evidence presented in the Supreme Court proceedings.
While McClean succeeded on liability, the court rejected significant portions of his claimed special damages.
His $5,000 air ambulance claim was denied because there was no record of payment. Claims for medical notes, physiotherapy and travel expenses were also rejected because the amounts were not supported by evidence.
McClean additionally claimed $45,500 for home care, but the court found that no receipts, invoices or payment records were produced. His claim for $155,000 in past lost earnings was also not proven because there was no documentary evidence establishing his earnings before the assault.
The court nevertheless found that McClean’s earning capacity had been adversely affected and awarded damages for future loss of earnings, with the amount to be assessed by the Registrar.
Consultant orthopedic surgeon Dr. Carlton Chambers testified that McClean requires a total hip replacement. The court accepted the medical evidence connecting the assault to McClean’s injuries and awarded damages for the future surgery, although no specific cost was established at trial.
Justice Bazard entered judgment in McClean’s favour, with the final damages award still to be determined.
