Oz Club To Pay $1.3M

Gold Coast nightclub Howl at the Moon was ordered by the Brisbane Supreme Court to pay $1.3 million in damages to a patron assaulted by barman Anthony Cerantonio Dec. 8, 2006.

Jon Lamble was attending a company Christmas party when scuffles broke out between venue staff and Lamble’s coworkers.

He was hit with a long-hand metal dustpan, which left him with a fractured jaw, vision impairment, ongoing headaches, neck and back pain, mental health problems and, he claimed, loss of job and marriage.

The club’s co-owner Lou Cerantonio said he was “totally shocked and disappointed” by the order as it set “a bad precedent” in making the venue liable for its staffer’s actions. He has a month to appeal.