A lawsuit was filed against Chael Sonnen on Friday in Clark County Nevada by Christopher Stellpflug and Julie Stellpflug stemming from an alleged battery that occurred in December of last year.
Stellpflug is a dentist from Northern California and was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to the lawsuit, Sonnen was ‘intoxicated, had a torn bloddy shirt hanging around his neck, was not wearing any shoes or socks, and was uttering unintelligible noises.”
The Stellpflug’s alleged that Sonnen confronted the couple in the hallway of the hotel. Although the couple claim that they tried to avoid the former UFC and Bellator fighter, Sonnen attacked the dentist and then turned his attention to his wife. According to the lawsuit, “Sonnen punched Mrs. Stellpflug multiple times in the face with a closed fist, splitting her lip open,” per the lawsuit, he then threw her up against the wall. The lawsuit notes that the woman is “5’3” and 125 lbs.”
The claims filed by the attorneys cite Sonnen for battery against the couple as well as Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. The damages are said to be “in excess of $15,000,” although this is just a placeholder to conform to jurisdictional limits and likely will be more.
Notably, Sonnen was given 5 misdemeanor battery citations on the same night. However, he was not arrested and the criminal investigation is pending.
Payout Perspective:
It’s not clear what the status of the criminal investigation is at this time. One would have to believe that the couple gave a statement to police but nothing came of it. The fact a criminal investigation may be dismissed has no bearing on the civil case since the standards of proof differ. One has to believe that the allegation that Sonnen hit a woman cannot sit well despite the fact the former MMA fighter has yet to respond.
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