Clark County Jury Awards $14.1 Million to Cyclist Run Over by Gentleman's Club Driver

In 2016, Thunder Roybal was riding his bicycle in Las Vegas when an SUV came up behind him. The driver, Louis Bellomo, was working for SHAC LLC, the company that operates the Sapphire Gentleman's Club. Bellomo tried to pass, clipped the bicycle, and ran Roybal over. He then tried to leave the scene. Roybal's brother stepped in front of the SUV and blocked it from driving off.

The collision left Roybal with crush injuries to his shoulder, neck, and chest. He went through four major surgeries. The care he had already received came to roughly $2.13 million in medical bills, and his doctors testified that he would need treatment for the rest of his life.

For about four years, the defense did not offer a dollar to settle. Bellomo and SHAC took the position that Roybal had caused the crash himself, that not all of his surgeries were tied to the collision, and that the wreck may even have been staged. Only after the case reached trial, partway through the proceedings, did the defense put $500,000 on the table.

The case was tried over ten days in May 2022 before the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County. Sean Claggett and Geordan Logan of Claggett & Sykes represented Roybal, with Logan serving as lead trial counsel. They walked the jury through the physical evidence and the medical record, then took on the defense theory directly. "They wanted to tell a story that this was a staged wreck and none of the evidence pointed that at all," Claggett said.

The jury found that Roybal was not negligent in any way and rejected the suggestion that he had staged the accident. On May 25, 2022, it returned a verdict of $14,126,607.74. The award broke down to about $2.13 million in past medical expenses, $3 million for past pain and suffering, and $9 million for future pain and suffering.

Bellomo and SHAC appealed, arguing that the damages were excessive, that the record did not support the award, and that the trial court should not have awarded attorney fees. The Nevada Supreme Court disagreed. In an order filed September 8, 2025, it affirmed the judgment in full, leaving the $14.1 million verdict and the fee award in place.