Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez was allegedly part of a group that jumped a man outside an East St. Louis strip club in 2014, according to a lawsuit, per the Belleville News-Democrat (via CBS St. Louis).
The lawsuit says that the plaintiff was drinking at a bar in St. Louis on July 4, 2014 when he ended up in a verbal dispute with a group of men that included Martinez and since-deceased Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras. The plaintiff's filing says that he left the bar and went to an East St. Louis strip club thereafter (Penthouse Club, though it's now known as Diamond Cabaret).
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff eventually walked out of the club to hit a food stand in the parking lot when he was jumped by the group. They allegedly took him to the ground and beat him. On Martinez specifically, he's alleged to have punched the plaintiff in the face and head.
The plaintiff, per the lawsuit, suffered a broken back and almost $100,000 in medical bills to date, with more surgical procedures on tap.
The lawsuit also accuses the strip club (owned by IRC L.P.) of negligence and liability, noting that the club didn't call police until a good portion of time had passed after the alleged attack.
As for why this is just being filed now, the lawyer of the plaintiff offers this up:
"While we would have preferred to avoid litigation," attorney John Eccher said (bnd.com), "the lack of acceptance of responsibility by culpable parties has required Tom Lech and myself to seek judicial intervention on behalf of Andy (D'Angelo, the plaintiff) to obtain justice."
It's highly unlikely Martinez would face any discipline from Major League Baseball on the matter, as this is a civil, not criminal, matter right now.
