Apr 10, 2019 3 min read

The attorney for an Allegheny County resident who was savagely beaten and kicked in the parking lot of Taylorstown American Legion Post 907 two years ago filed suit anew recently in Washington County Court.

Gregory Sloan of Munhall was unconscious after the April 1, 2017, attack, and he had multiple surgeries to remove parts of his brain and shattered skull.

Sloan’s attorney, Emerald Williams, did not return a phone call asking why she had initiated a new complaint with additional defendants. There was no indication in court documents that the earlier suit had either been discontinued or consolidated with the most recent filing.

The last action in the previous suit dealt with case management before Senior Judge Daniel Howsare earlier this month.

One defendant in each lawsuit, Victor Simonelli, 32, of Blaine Township, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in September 2018 on the verge of a jury trial, is now serving a six- to 12-year sentence in the State Correctional Institution at Greene County. American Legion Post 907 is also named as a defendant in both court filings.

The newest version of the suit also includes as defendants a half-dozen officers of the legion post and a man who is accused of acting with Simonelli but who was not charged criminally.

Sloan, according to the suit, was at the club the night of March 31 as a guest of Kyle Forebare, a social member, for business purposes.

The legion served alcoholic beverages to Sloan, Forebare and Simonelli and the fourth man when they were intoxicated, according to the pleadings.

Sloan had gone to his truck to sleep off his intoxication before “last call,” and Forebare later joined him.

The legion bartender wanted the truck to be removed from the premises when the establishment closed, so she enlisted the aid of Simonelli’s acquaintance to see that it left.

The suit claims Sloan was not causing harm, or threatening or disturbing anyone, but that the acquaintance asked Simonelli to assist and Simonelli grabbed a baseball bat from his vehicle and both men threatened Sloan and Forebare.

The bartender removed the bat from Simonelli, but she did not immediately call police or have Simonelli removed from the property, according to the suit.

Both the civil complaint and affidavit in the criminal case say that Simonelli got a metal pipe from his vehicle and used it as a weapon. Forebare ran to nearby woods and called 911 as Simonelli beat Sloan with the pipe.

Sloan suffered hearing and vision loss, many facial, internal and neurological injuries, and has lost earning capacity due his impairment, the suit says.

Among the many counts against the legion are claims that the club’s officers failed to provide a safe place for patrons.

Williams demanded a jury trial to compensate Sloan for his injuries. When Judge Valarie Costanzo sentenced Simonelli last year, she left open the matter of restitution pending the outcome of litigation.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the altercation’s events.