Dec 15, 2006 By The 2 min read

The city of Connellsville was dismissed as a defendant in a civil suit filed by the family of a man killed in a 2004 bar fight. John Finnerty Jr., 33, of Everson died during a fight outside The Paint Room bar in the city on July 2, 2004. In addition to the city, the suit named Brian Watson, 32, of Dunbar, who was acquitted in Finnerty’s death earlier this year.

Watson told jurors he was defending himself against Finnerty and his friends in a fight outside the bar.

Watson’s punch sent Finnerty to the ground, where he hit his head.

Witnesses testified Watson punched Finnerty twice more while he was on the ground, but medical testimony indicated it was that initial impact that caused Finnerty’s fatal injuries.

Family and friends of Finnerty’s said he was a peaceful man who was attacked for no reason outside the bar.

The suit also names the owners of the bar and property upon which it sits, a bar bouncer and people involved in the altercation.

Although Watson was acquitted in a criminal trial, Finnerty’s family still can pursue a civil remedy. The legal threshold to prove civil liability is lower, and jurors in that case would have to believe that Watson was responsible for Finnerty’s death by a preponderance of the evidence. Civil verdicts also do not have to be unanimous, whereas criminal verdicts do.