Strip club wins lawsuit filed over patron’s death

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003 | 10:55 a.m.

It took a jury less than two hours to come back with a decision against a woman seeking civil damages against the Crazy Horse Too over the death of her in August 1995.

The 10-member Clark County jury returned a unanimous decision against the plaintiff, Camille Fau, about 6 p.m. Monday. Fau was seeking unspecified damages for the death of her husband Scott Fau, 39, who died on Aug. 4, 1995, after being found with multiple injuries in a desert area near the club.

Fau's attorney, Randy Pike, in his closing argument, asked the jury to give Camille Fau and her daughters, Francesca, 12, and Nicole, 7, a multimillion-dollar judgment .

"Seven years after the events of Scott Fau's death I'm asking you to join together and give his family some closure," Pike said. "Give this family justice."

Marsha Stephenson, attorney for the club, Crazy Horse manager Michael Muscato and bartender Darrin Brey told the jury that Pike's allegations that club employees beat her husband to death had no evidence to back them up.

"It's just a story," Stephenson said to the jury. "Sympathy cannot be a determining factor in this case. You have to determine if there was some action by the defendants that resulted in Scott Fau's death."

Fau, an interstate truck driver, got into a fight with some of the bouncers at the club, suffering minor injuries. Pike alleged that after Metro Police and a paramedic left the scene, Fau was again attacked and beaten to death.

Stephenson told the jurors that there just wasn't enough time for the second beating to have occured at the hands of club employees, explaining that Brey and Paul Luca, another employee who is now deceased, had broken their hands in the first altercation and had gone to University Medical Center for treatment.

During the trial Brey testified that the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Fau would not cooperate when he was asked to leave the club due to his behavior there. Brey said punches were thrown and an altercation ensued.

Police arrived, and Fau was removed from the club by employees. After police left, the alleged fatal beating took place, according to Pike.

"He (Fau) crawled through vegetation and up a berm after he was beaten," Pike said. "It took everything the big man had to crawl to the spot where he died."

Fau was found a few hours later in a desert area more than 200 yards behind the club. He later died at UMC.

Dr. Charles Green, former chief medical examiner for Clark County who performed Fau's autopsy, testified that Fau had bruises on both eyes, abrasions on his arms and legs, a broken ankle and nose, and bruising to his head. Green said that none of the injuries appeared to be life threatening and that he could not determine the cause of Fau's death.

Stephenson also reminded the jury that Fau was with a friend, Edwin Rivera, when he was at the club. About 15 minutes before Fau was found behind the club, Rivera was located near Spring Mountain Road and Interstate 15. Rivera had also suffered injuries, but he did not die.

"Are we supposed to believe that my clients beat these men nearly to death and then drug Rivera all the way down to Spring Mountain and left Fau behind?" Stephenson asked the jury. "It just doesn't make any sense."

The Fau's, of Carson, Calif., were seeking general and punitive damages from the club. Pike argued they deserved to be paid about $100,000 for each year Scott Fau could have been expected to live beyond age 39 as well as the money he could have earned during those years.