Complaint filed for assault and battery against Sutil
Eric Lux, CEO of Genii Capital, could seek 14 million dollars in damages from Adrian Sutil after filing a complaint for assault and is considering further legal action against any person involved in the incident on April 17th.
On April 17, Adrian Sutil was at the center of a violent altercation with Eric Lux, CEO of Genii Capital, in the VIP lounge of the M1NT Nightclub in Shanghai. According to statements from Jean-Louis Moncet, who was one of the first to publicly report on this matter on TF1 during the Turkish Grand Prix, the German driver allegedly broke a glass and used it as a dagger against Lux’s neck, narrowly missing a fatal injury as the jugular artery was fortunately not affected. Stitches [24 in number, according to *Italiaracing*] were required, and Lux has also been experiencing hearing problems since.
Last week, Adrian Sutil acknowledged the facts and gave his own version of the incident: « During this evening, in which I was present in a private capacity, I committed a very unfortunate act in which I unintentionally injured another person. I deeply regret the accident and have apologized. This is a private accident that is not related to Formula 1, so I ask you to understand that I will not say more about this incident. »
For his part, Marc Henzelin, lawyer for Eric Lux, confirmed in a statement on Monday that legal action had been initiated against Adrian Sutil: « In view of the recent events that took place in Shanghai on April 17, Mr. Eric Lux has decided to press charges against Mr. Adrian Sutil for assault and battery. Once the complaint is filed, the International Automobile Federation and the Force India team will be notified. »
Manfred Zimmerman, Adrian Sutil’s manager, stated that he has taken note of this legal action: « In recent weeks, Adrian has repeatedly tried to contact Mr. Lux, without success. If there should be an indictment, we will defend ourselves. »
« Those who know Adrian know that he would not intentionally hurt anyone » explains Manfred Zimmerman. « Adrian deeply regrets it but it is an unfortunate and unintentional accident. »
Such an action could lead the Force India team to provisionally suspend its driver during the procedure, and the FIA could revoke his license, even though Bild claims that neither the Federation nor Bernie Ecclestone is conducting investigations on this matter. However, the situation could also be more serious for the German driver, as some media outlets claim that Eric Lux’s lawsuit may come with a demand for damages that could amount to 14 million dollars.
The case might not be limited to Adrian Sutil himself since, according to his lawyer, Eric Lux does not rule out taking action against anyone involved in this matter. In this respect, Lewis Hamilton seems to be the first target. The 2008 World Champion, and friend of Adrian Sutil, was indeed present at the scene, but his testimony could not be corroborated by CCTV footage.
