Chauncey Hardy's Family to File $210 Million Wrongful Death Suit

Monday marked one year since the tragic death of basketball player Chauncey Hardy, of Middletown, who died in Romania after he was severely beaten in a nightclub.

After an investigation into the events leading to his death, Hardy’s mother plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court.

"Not only for Chauncey, we want justice for any athlete that want to go play overseas, so that there's some type of protection," Olamae Hardy, Chauncey's mother said Monday.

Olamae Hardy said negligence led to her son’s death and she’s filing a $210 million lawsuit against a Romanian hospital that treated him, doctors and other defendants.

Hardy, 23, died on Oct. 9, 2011 in Romania after being severely beaten after a game while he and his teammates were celebrating a win. 

According to the family's attorney, the first medics to see Hardy presumed he was drunk, not suffering a brain hemmorage.  The lawsuit claims he was not given proper medical treatment because of that presumption.

The suit also claims the Romanian Basketball League should have protected Hardy and kept him away from anti-minority Romanians.

Hardy's death devastated friends and family.

“Chauncey … was a happy-go-lucky kid. He kind of lived day to day,” said Anthony Latina, assistant basketball coach at Sacred Heart University, where Hardy was a star basketball player at from 2006 to 2010.

“I just remember a kid who was always smiling, always happy, lived to play basketball ....almost lived for the game,” said former Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano.

When news hit that Hardy died, members of the community, like Mayor Giuliano had just one question — Why?

“Why somebody would jump Chauncy is just beyond me. He was never that type of kid. He was not an in-your-face type of kid, he was just happy,” Giuliano said.

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