Wrongful death suit filed in federal court on behalf of Chauncey Hardy estate – Middletown Press
By Ann DeMatteoadematteo@middletownpress.com
When the body of a professional basketball player from Middletown was shipped back from Romania, a West Haven lawyer promised the man’s mother he would do everything he could to bring justice for Chauncey D. Hardy.On Wednesday, six days prior to the year anniversary of Hardy’s death, attorney Rick Altschuler filed a wrongful death suit in U.S. District Court in New Haven. Hardy, a standout at Xavier High School in Middletown and then Sacred Heart University, was 23 when he was beaten up in a bar after a basketball game; he died because doctors at a low-level hospital didn’t immediately treat his injuries, the suit said.“When the body came back from Romania, I promised his mother that I would bring justice back here in the United States,” Altschuler said, referring to Olamae Hardy, the deceased athlete’s mother and administratrix of his estate.Altschuler is seeking more than $ 210 million in punitive and compensatory damages against defendants, including the man who caused fatal blows to Chauncey Hardy, the Romanian Basketball Federation and one its representatives, Theo Matthew Evans of Oregon, a Romanian hospital and two unnamed doctors.
Altschuler said he is bringing suit under the several statutes, including the state wrongful death statute and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. “The underlying basis in this case was contractual, which led to the wrongful death of Chancey Hardy in Giurgiu, Romania, based on a contractual written contract between the decedent” and the basketball federation, which was signed in the United States.Another reason why he is seeking justice in the United States is because he has been warned by Romanian lawyers that he’s not going to get justice for an African-American basketball player in [...]