A New Jersey judge has ordered the owner of a bar to pay more than $9,000 in legal fees for a gay couple who filed suit after being assaulted inside the establishment.
The legal fees and costs are in addition to $31,000 in damages awarded to David Monaco and Florin Nikollaj by Superior Court Judge Michael J. Kassel.
Superior Court Judge Donald J. Stein ordered King Street Pub on March 16 to pay the legal fees and costs of Monaco and Nikollaj, totaling $9,390.02.
The money will go to the law firm of Costello & Mains, based in Mt. Laurel, N.J., which has represented the couple in protracted litigation.
In May 2015, the couple was subjected to an anti-LGBT assault inside the bar, which is located in Gloucester City, N.J., according to a civil suit filed by the couple in July 2016.
Two bar patrons repeatedly hurled anti-LGBT slurs at the couple, grabbed food from Monaco’s plate and punched Monaco in the face, according to the suit.
One of the assailants told the bar manager he was “going to fuck with those fags,” according to the suit. “The bar manager, rather than taking any action to prevent that conduct, did absolutely nothing,” the suit states.
The couple requested financial compensation from bar owner Stanley J. Bond but Bond refused to pay, according to court records.
Neither side had a comment for this story.
In a prior interview with PGN, Bond said he wouldn’t give any money to the couple. “I’d throw it in the river first before I gave them a nickel,” he said.