Lawsuits filed in Wythe gas station assault

By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

A Carroll County resident convicted of assaulting a man at a Poplar Camp gas station in July 2008 has countersued his victim after being hit with a $1 million lawsuit in early August.
Charles Casey O’Bryan, 20, has asked a Wythe County judge to instead award him $25,000, claiming in court documents that he was in fact the one who sustained “serious physical injuries” from a “malicious attack.”
On the evening of July 19, 2008, John D. Mullins of Dickenson County pulled off Interstate 77 in Wythe County at exit 24 to fill up his car at the Citgo station and let the three minor children traveling with him – his daughter, niece and nephew – use the restroom.
According to his lawsuit against O’Bryan and two other Carroll County defendants, Katharine Paige Dalton, 22, and Chad David Robinson, 20, Mullins claims that O’Bryan shouted profanities at the “laughing and talking” children and told them to shut up as they returned to the vehicle.
That led Mullins to approach O’Bryan, seated in a Volkswagen Beetle with Dalton and Robinson adjacent to Mullins’ vehicle, and ask him to watch his language.
“Mullins told the three that he did not want any problems as his children were present, but O’Bryan struck Mullins on the left side of his face, knocking Mullins backwards,” the original lawsuit states.
The violence escalated from there, according to Mullins’ civil claim, as he said O’Bryan then struck him in the stomach, pulled him to the ground and gouged at his right eye.
“At this point, the two others who had gotten out of the vehicle, Katherine Dalton and Robinson, began kicking and stomping Mullins while he was on the ground, defending himself against O’Bryan,” Mullins states in his lawsuit.
“Mullins was able to break loose from O’Bryan and attempted to move away from the three, but O’Bryan then screamed ‘I’ll [profanity] kill you’ and came at Mullins again. After another series of punches Katherine Dalton yelled the police were on their way and [they] sped off in the Volkswagen Beetle with Katherine Dalton driving. … This malicious and unprovoked attack occurred in full view of the three small children.”
According to online Wythe County Circuit Court records, O’Bryan, Dalton and Robinson all pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery in February and were given brief jail sentences.
Dalton also was convicted of marijuana possession and driving while intoxicated.
A fourth Carroll County resident was also in the vehicle, but did not participate in the skirmish and was not named in Mullins’ lawsuit.
Mullins claims that the fight caused him numerous psychological and physical injuries and led to extensive medical bills.
Against each of the three defendants, he is asking for a $500,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages, for a total claim of $3 million.
The Code of Virginia caps punitive claims at $350,000; however plaintiffs are allowed to request more to symbolically show greater offense. If a jury awards more than $350,000 in punitive damages, the judge is required to lower the amount to the statutory maximum.
Mullins’ attorney, David Childers, didn’t return a phone call seeking additional comment about the lawsuit.
Of the three defendants, only O’Bryan had issued an answer to Mullins’ claims as of Thursday afternoon.
O’Bryan’s attorney, Bradley Dalton, said he couldn’t comment on his client’s response or counterclaim when reached Thursday without talking further with O’Bryan.
Although he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor assault and battery charge stemming from the gas station encounter, O’Bryan, in his answer to Mullins’ lawsuit, denies Mullins’ version of the brawl and asks that the lawsuit be dismissed.
In his counterclaim, O’Bryan instead states that Mullins “challenged him to exit the vehicle.”
“When O’Bryan did exit the vehicle, a physical altercation begin in which, at one point, Mullins was on top of O’Bryan, striking him repeatedly,” O’Bryan’s court filing states.
Those blows, which O’Bryan claims constituted a “malicious attack,” entitle him to $25,000 in damages, according to his countersuit.
As of early Friday afternoon, no court dates had been scheduled to consider Mullins’ lawsuit or O’Bryan’s counterclaim.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .