Moore Files Suit Against Bertuzzi

[bayrider]

By MICHAEL GRANGE

Friday, February 18, 2005 Updated at 12:17 AM EST

From Friday's Globe and Mail

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Denver ? For Steve Moore, the time is now.

The former Colorado Avalanche forward has filed a lawsuit against Todd Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks over the on-ice assault last March that left Moore with a broken neck and other injuries.

Moore was asked about the possibility of a suit in December after Bertuzzi pleaded guilty in Vancouver to a charge of assault causing bodily harm in a deal with prosecutors.

He said then that he was focused on making a full recovery from his injuries and resuming his hockey career.

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But as a free agent and with the National Hockey League in a protracted lockout, Moore may have decided his NHL career is likely over.

One of Moore's lawyers, Lee Foreman, said in a statement that the suit, filed on Tuesday in Denver District Court, accuses Bertuzzi of civil conspiracy, assault, battery and negligence.

The hulking Canucks all-star received a conditional discharge as a result of criminal proceedings, a sentence that could carry no criminal record.

Foreman is part of the law firm that represented Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant against a sexual assault charge last year. Moore is also represented by John Purvis of Boulder, Colo.

Neither lawyer could be reached for comment last night.

According to a story on The Denver Post's World Wide Web site, other defendants in what could be a groundbreaking civil action include Canucks forward Brad May, head coach Marc Crawford, former Canucks general manager Brian Burke and the Canucks' owner.

The Canucks released a statement from general manager Dave Nonis yesterday.

"The Vancouver Canucks are aware of reports circulating to the effect a lawsuit has been commenced by Steve Moore in relation to the March 8, 2004, Colorado Avalanche vs. Vancouver Canucks game," the statement said. "To date, the Canucks have no additional information and accordingly have no further comment at this time."

Burke, now a commentator with TSN, was equally brief when reached by The Globe and Mail. "I haven't seen a copy of [the suit], nor have I discussed it with counsel for Orca Bay [which owns the Canucks]," he said.

Bertuzzi was flying home to Kitchener, Ont., last night and learned of the suit from his agent, Patrick Morris, at about 9 p.m.

"There was always the possibility that this could happen," Morris said. "Were we given warning that an action was about to be filed? No. Todd has not yet been served, but he is now aware that an action has been filed in court."

According to the report on the The Denver Post's website, the lawsuit was filed in Denver District Court because the sequence of events that led to the attack began at a Canucks-Avalanche game at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Feb. 16, 2004.

Moore suffered a broken neck, a concussion and facial injuries in the attack.

The incident stemmed from a check that Moore, a rookie with the Avalanche, delivered on Canucks star Markus Naslund in the game in Denver that caused Naslund to miss three games with a concussion.

Although Moore didn't receive a penalty at the time or subsequent discipline from NHL officials, talk of retribution was widespread afterward, with May quoted as saying: "There's definitely a bounty on his head. It's going to be fun when we get him."

After an uneventful first meeting, a 5-5 tie on March 4 in Denver, things boiled over in a 9-2 Avalanche blowout win in Vancouver on March 8.

Moore fought Matt Cooke in the first period and had several other Canucks take shots at him. In the third, Bertuzzi sucker-punched Moore from behind and fell on him, driving his head into the ice. The rookie was left unconscious, with two fractured vertebrae and other injuries.

The NHL suspended Bertuzzi for the rest of the season and the playoffs, a penalty that cost the Canucks' star a little more than $500,000 (U.S.) in salary. That's $75,000

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...BNStory/Sports/

I think Bertuzzi and the Canucks organization deserves it. Ive seen the Moore hit on Naslund, which imo was nothing more than a regular check. In that last game Moore played, he already faught one player, took a bunch of hits. What ensued was uncalled for. Everyone seems to have labeled Moore for being a wimp for not wanting to fight Bertuzzi, even though Moore had already fought once, and been cheked and hit more than enough.

[Chris Allen Veteran]

He will not win.

[cjbeckwith]

With the lawsuit being filed in Denver, he may very well have a chance. Anyway, Bertuzzi is a goon and it would be great to see him banned period.

[Matrix XII]

he made one mistake for christ's sake.... it was a dirty play and he paid for it..... let it be. I bet he feels ****ty enough as it is.

[Ayepecks]

Yes, he made one mistake, and he's still paying for it. Moore deserves the money for medical bills, don't you think?

[bayrider]

next time i get mad at someone and punch him till he is knocked unconcious and paralized... to my defense, i'll tell the judge it was just an accident.

[cjbeckwith]

he made one mistake for christ's sake.... it was a dirty play and he paid for it..... let it be. I bet he feels ****ty enough as it is.

585508729[/snapback]

Bertuzzi has been a goon for years. This is not his first incident. In fact, the NHL SHOULD in a sense be held libel for letting him continue to play in the manner that he has. At least the European league is smart enough to keep him out.

[Ayepecks]

next time i get mad at someone and punch him till he is knocked unconcious and paralized... to my defense, i'll tell the judge it was just an accident.

585509710[/snapback]

:laugh:

[NEVER85]

Bertuzzi has been a goon for years.  This is not his first incident.  In fact, the NHL SHOULD in a sense be held libel for letting him continue to play in the manner that he has.  At least the European league is smart enough to keep him out.

585510178[/snapback]

Moore had what was coming to him. Bertuzzi did go overboard, although it's my belief the broken neck came from all those Divealanche players piling on top of him and Moore, not the punch itself.

Now in case you're wondering why I called Colorado the Divealanche, whenever the NHL resumes, watch a Colorado game and half their players pulling blatant dives when someone brushes against them. Thank god the biggest diver in history (Forsberg) is staying in Sweden.

[vancity001]

He had it comming to him, and even if he didnt, this is stupid.

Its Hockey! You are gonna get hurt. If you arent man enough to accept that, get over it.

Many people have been injured playing this game, and also, who knows what really caused Steve Moores neck to be broken, the hit, or the fact that half of his team DOVE ONTO HIS HEAD as he was on the ground.

Yes, bertuzzi is a goon, and yes, so is Steve Moore. At least bertuzzi knows how to score goals. The point im trying to make here is, if Steve Moore wins this case, it will open up a whole new line of pointless lawsuits by money hungry pro sports players who have been injured in some way or another.

[Liquid]

IMO Moore is a baby ... :pacifier:

Too Moore.. Suck it up princess.

[waurbind]

next time i get mad at someone and punch him till he is knocked unconcious and paralized... to my defense, i'll tell the judge it was just an accident.

585509710[/snapback]

you make it sound like he knoed him down and beat the sh!t out of him. it was 1 punch for christs sake and if sum1 hits ur friend and you hit them back its even. what did moore expect? "let's hit naslund....theres nothign anybody can do about it"

who knows what really caused Steve Moores neck to be broken, the hit, or the fact that half of his team DOVE ONTO HIS HEAD as he was on the ground.

lmao that was the stupidst thing i ever saw, and yet a valid argument. :p

[sundayx Veteran]

hockey, or nhl, has become a violent > skill game. havent watched a full game for a long time.

[Matrix XII]

IMO Moore is a baby ... :pacifier:

Too Moore.. Suck it up princess.

585514033[/snapback]

LMFAO! :yes:

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Yikes! No punches pulled here (either from Naslund or Damien Cox)...

Feb. 22, 2005. 08:10 AM

Naslund drops gloves, throws cheap shot

DAMIEN COX

SPORTS COLUMNIST

In Markus Naslund's world, only elite hockey players have rights.

Steve Moore, to Naslund, only had the right to be a victim.

And certainly not to make a fuss about it.

"He's suing everyone so he can make money," Naslund told a Vancouver paper. "I've got no respect for him at all.

"This is just a guy who's trying to hit a home run (financially). Someone who wasn't good enough to play.

"I'm not saying what (Bertuzzi did) was right. But if it was me, I'd be doing everything I could to get back and play and show everyone the character I have."

Oh, don't worry. We now are keenly aware of the "character" possessed by Naslund.

This is the same captain of the Canucks who hid behind the brutes on his own team after being nailed with a clean hit, asked them to go out and make like the dogs of war so he could keep his saintly hands clean.

Has a little Tonya Harding-Jeff Gillooly scent to it, wouldn't you say?

This is a hockey player, based on his words yesterday, who looks down his nose at the marginal players in the game, the grunts, checkers and pluggers who have to scratch and claw just to get on the active roster of an NHL team for a few games.

Those Naslund judges as not "good enough to play" certainly don't deserve the same consideration as, say, he does. People like Moore should not have the temerity to bodycheck those above him in the food chain.

This Naslund is a "leader" who allowed the foaming-at-the-mouth lynch mob to get way out of control in the Canucks dressing room, ultimately helping to create the scenario that left Moore with a broken neck, Bertuzzi suspended indefinitely and the Canucks out millions of dollars in post-season revenue.

That Moore's career has been destroyed by Bertuzzi's attack, and that his health may have been permanently damaged, matters not to the Scandinavian, who we can only assume would never had made his comments without first thoroughly examining Moore's health charts.

That Bertuzzi pleaded guilty in criminal court to intentionally assaulting Moore was also similarly not worth consideration to Naslund.

He figures Moore should just suck it up. Recovering lost wages and opportunity through a lawsuit would never be done by a manly sort.

Just go and steal somebody else's job during the lockout like the rest of us, Naslund seems to instruct.

It's the hypocrisy that really gets you.

On one hand, Naslund takes shots at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for the indecency of trying to design a system that will cap NHL playing incomes at an average of about $1.3 million per season. The Swedish profile-in-courage then takes shots at an injured athlete who can't even exercise because of his severe injuries, suggesting he's just out for the money.

Gotta love a guy who suggests that if he'd suffered a broken neck he'd make like John Wayne.

Moreover, this is the reverse juice on the hockey slang of the 1970s when newcomers were labelled "chicken Swedes" by nasty Canadian brutes.

Now it's the Swedes deriding the manhood of the Canadians.

That Naslund questions Moore's character is indeed the topper. After all, at least Borje Salming stood up for himself. Naslund could have sought revenge against Moore himself last winter, could have dropped his gloves, lifted his protective visor and given the Harvard grad the old Ingemar Johansson one-two.

Instead, he let Brad May and Bertuzzi play judge and jury while he kept his Lady Byng tiara in place.

Now the lawsuit is on, and the evidence sure looks compelling that there was a conspiracy to take Moore's livelihood away from him.

Sadly, one name is missing from the list of defendants.

Would love to see the name of Markus Naslund added.

What a stupid, stupid man.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=968332188492

[bayrider]

what did moore expect? "let's hit naslund....theres nothign anybody can do about it"

lmao that was the stupidst thing i ever saw, and yet a valid argument. :p

585514046[/snapback]

what did Naslund expect? he had his head down at center ice with the puck. In my book thats open season, i dont care if ur wayne gretzky or some rookie. And didnt Moore get enough? he was knocked around, and even fought once before the bertuzzi hit. All that is missing is putting the guy infront of a firing range

[Matrix XII]

how is that naslund throwing a cheapshot...... geez... people make so much out of so little.

[gdodson]

IMO Moore is a baby ... :pacifier:

Too Moore.. Suck it up princess.

585514033[/snapback]

Right.... If having your neck broken by some idiot just because he's an idiot makes one a baby when they sue. Moore will win and I'm glad, Bertuzzi is an idiot.

[Matrix XII]

Actually Bertuzzi never broke his neck, it was the Avalanche players diving on top of them that did it if you watch closely.

[Liquid]

Right.... If having your neck broken by some idiot just because he's an idiot makes one a baby when they sue. Moore will win and I'm glad, Bertuzzi is an idiot.

585518364[/snapback]

Yes, if I wasn't playing hockey at the time. He was playing hockey, thus prone to injury. If it were on the streets, Id be sue happy, but it wasn't.

[Matrix XII]

How do you know Moore will win anyways lol

[Ji@nBing]

What a stupid, stupid man.

585516377[/snapback]

What a stupid, stupid article :pinch:

[bayrider]

i never said Naslund threw a cheapshot. He had his head down with the puck in open ice... in hockey thats being asked for a hit.

[Matrix XII]

the article said naslund threw a cheapshot.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

the article said naslund threw a cheapshot.

585524769[/snapback]

The article said that Naslund threw a VERBAL cheapshot (or at least that was the implication).