Adding context
Beyond his NHL and IIHF suspensions, legal action was taken against Bertuzzi in the provincial courts of
British Columbia and
Ontario, as well as in
Colorado state court. After a four-month investigation, the criminal justice branch of the
Attorney General of British Columbia announced on June 24, 2004, he was being formally charged with
assault causing bodily harm.
[21] With the charge, Bertuzzi faced up to one-and-a-half years in prison.
[22] Several months later, on December 22, Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to the assault charge after arranging a
plea bargainwith prosecutors. He was given a
conditional discharge requiring 80 hours of
community service and one year's
probation that additionally prohibited him from playing in any hockey game Moore was competing in. Under
Canadian law, Bertuzzi's successful completion of his probationary period precluded him from a
criminal record.
[23]Moore expressed disappointment regarding Bertuzzi's discharge and was upset that he was unable to attend the court date, having to issue a written victim statement instead. Moore's lawyer, Tim Danson, was given one day's notice of the court date following Bertuzzi's plea bargain, which he said was insufficient time for Moore to travel to Vancouver.
[24]
On February 17, 2005, Moore filed a
lawsuit in a Colorado court against Bertuzzi. Also named in the lawsuit were numerous individuals within the Canucks organization, including Brad May (Bertuzzi's teammate at the time who was quoted as saying that there would "definitely be a price on Moore's head" after Moore's hit on Näslund), Brian Burke,
Marc Crawford, as well as the Canucks organization as a whole and the
Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment company that owned the team. The lawsuit was thrown out in October 2005, as the Colorado judge ruled the case was better suited for Canadian courts, as Moore and all the defendants were Canadian citizens. Planning to appeal the decision,
[25] Danson stated publicly the following month that Moore had begun skating and doing regular workouts, but continued to suffer
concussion-related symptoms.
[25]
