New lawsuit filed against NHL’s Bertuzzi: report

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – National Hockey
League player and Canadian Olympic team member Todd Bertuzzi
has been hit with a new civil lawsuit in connection with his
on-ice attack on an opposing player in 2004, the Canadian
Broadcasting Corp. reported on Wednesday.

On March 8, 2004, Bertuzzi, a member of the Vancouver
Canucks, skated up behind Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore
and punched him in the head in the closing minutes of a game.
He then landed on top of Moore as they fell to the ice under a
pile of players.

Moore suffered a severe neck injury and a concussion. He is
not fully recovered and is unlikely to play hockey again.

Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to a criminal assault charge in
Vancouver and was given a conditional discharge.

CBC said the new lawsuit, filed in Ontario, seeks C$15
million ($13 million) for lost wages and plus punitive damages
for Moore and his parents.

The suit comes nearly four months after a U.S. judge tossed
out a lawsuit that Moore had filed in Denver against Bertuzzi
and several other Canucks players and team officials.

The judge said the U.S. court system did not have
jurisdiction over an incident that had happened in Vancouver
between two Canadian citizens.

The new lawsuit’s filing coincides with the start of the
men’s ice hockey competition in the Turin Olympics, where
Bertuzzi is playing for Canada.

Bertuzzi’s selection to the Olympic squad generated
controversy in Canada and abroad, with critics saying the NHL
all-star he did not deserve to be at the 2006 Games because he
had tarnished the sport’s reputation.