Former Syracuse University running back Delone Carter is now liable for damages suffered by another student he assaulted during a physical altercation on campus nearly two years ago.

Carter, who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, is expected to face a trial only on the issue of damages based on the admissions he made — in court and in response to a lawsuit filed by victim William Hotaling — about his role in the incident, according to an article published Thursday in The Post-Standard.

State Supreme Court Justice James Murphy also ruled that Hotaling’s lawyer can amend the lawsuit to add a request for punitive damages from Carter, according to the article.

Carter was charged with misdemeanor third-degree assault April 14, 2010, for punching Hotaling, now a senior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, in the face.

Carter, teammate Ryan Gillum and another unnamed person were driving in a black SUV when a snowball struck it on the 300 block of Waverly Avenue at about 1 a.m. Feb. 27, 2010. Surveillance cameras showed three people exiting the vehicle and confronting Hotaling and his roommate near Kimmel Hall. Carter then punched Hotaling once in the face, causing him to fall to the ground while the three returned to the SUV and drove away.

Upon pleading guilty in September 2010 to a reduced charge of harassment, Carter said he realized Hotaling had not thrown the snowball and was not a threat to him, according to the article.

‘Mr. Hotaling did not start any altercation with me or anyone I was with that night,’ Carter said in pleading guilty in City Court, The Post-Standard reported. ‘When I hit Mr. Hotaling, I was not acting in self-defense, and I never felt threatened by him or the individual he was walking with.’

Hotaling filed a civil lawsuit last summer seeking an unspecified amount of damages from Carter for the attack, according to the article. The lawsuit said Hotaling suffered numerous facial fractures and damaged facial muscles, a dislocated and permanently damaged jaw, memory loss, headaches and fatigue, among other issues.

Hotaling declined to comment further on the case.

In court Thursday, Hotaling’s lawyer, Sidney Cominsky, argued the severity of Hotaling’s injuries warranted adding a request for punitive damages, according to the article. Cominsky also argued the damage done in one punch proved the brutality of the attack, according to the article.

Judge Murphy ruled that, based on Carter’s guilty plea in City Court and the defense response to the lawsuit, Carter was liable for the attack on Hotaling, and the trial would address how much to award in damages, according to the article.

egsawyer@syr.edu 

Published on February 5, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Liz: egsawyer@syr.edu | @3sawyer