Back in 2019, a guest sued Universal Orlando after he fought with a teenage guest in an altercation that started over a stroller in a narrow arcade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
John Matava, originally from Connecticut, sought more than $15,000 in damages when he filed the lawsuit over the 2017 incident.
Matava claimed in the 2019-filed lawsuit that he had been “violently attacked by a belligerent, intoxicated [man].”
At the time, Matava alleged that Universal didn’t have proper surveillance or security to keep his family safe. He also alleged that the theme park didn’t check ID’s when serving alcohol to minors.
According to a police report, Orlando police ruled both sides were “mutual combatants” and no one ended up being charged with a crime after video surveillance was watched.
When Orlando police officers arrived on the scene in October 2017, they notice that Matava had a bloody nose and an injury on his left eyebrow. Matava’s wife and the teenager he had fought with both had minor injuries, as well.
The fight started when Matava’s wife, Jennifer, pushed their grandson in a stroller in the arcade and complained people wouldn’t step aside, she said in the report.
That’s when the 19-year-old teenage guest overheard her, confronted her husband and punched him in the face, she said.
According to the report, the teenager said Jennifer Matava swore as she ordered people to move. The 19-year-old suggested she should ask nicer, which he said led to Matava starting a fight with him.
A video showed the teenager saying something to Matava, according to the report. Matava stuck his face in front of the teen and chest-bumped hum.
The teenager punched him, and then the fight broke out as Jennifer Matava tried to stop the pair. She inadvertently got hit with one of the teenager’s punches, the report said.
The 19-year-old stepped back but then Matava re-engaged him and the altercation continued until the two men were separated, the report said.
“Based on the statements and video surveillance, it is clear that John Matava and [the teen] were mutual combatants,” the report found. The 19-year-old was issued with a trespass warning from Universal Orlando.
To this day and to our knowledge, the outcome of the lawsuit is unknown. Stay tuned for more Remembering When articles, only on Orlando Theme Park Zone.
H/T Orlando Sentinel
