June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Investment banker Stuart Sugarman, claiming personal injuries, sued the stockbroker who picked up and dropped his stationary bike in a health-club exercise class after becoming annoyed by his grunts and shouts.

Sugarman, 49, a senior managing director at Sunrise Securities Corp., filed suit in state court in Manhattan today against Maxim Group LLC broker Christopher Carter, 45, who was acquitted of criminal assault charges over the incident by a jury June 2. Sugarman underwent surgery for a herniated disc six days after the Aug. 15, 2007, bicycle-exercise class incident at an Equinox Fitness Club on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

``We have all seen how the high burden of proof in criminal cases has resulted in anomalies like the acquittal of O.J. Simpson,'' Sugarman's attorney Samuel Davis, of Teaneck, New Jersey, said in a telephone interview. ``The civil case will clearly get to the truth on a more level playing ground.''

The ``spin class'' Sugarman describes in his complaint is a form of exercise that has grown in popularity in the U.S., according to Judy Taylor, a spokeswoman for Equinox Holdings Inc., parent of the club. Spinning, also known as studio cycling, provides a cardio-vascular workout on a stationary bicycle, she said. Classes average 30 people in number, many with financial, entertainment or fashion jobs, she said.

Sugarman also sued Equinox. Taylor declined to comment on the case.

John Jazylo, a spin-class instructor for 10 years who conducts classes at a New York Sports Club in Mahwah, New Jersey, said it was the ``normal modus operandi to be excited and screaming and yelling. Everybody to a certain extent yells, cajoles and sings. It's part of the class. You're doing aerobic exercise to hard-core music. People get excited.''

`Cheering and Shouting'

Sugarman was ``cheering and shouting'' during the class when Carter became ``annoyed and agitated,'' according to the complaint. Carter asked an instructor to ``silence'' Sugarman during the class, the instructor declined to get involved, and Carter became ``enraged,'' according to the complaint.

Carter dismounted from his bicycle and, in a ``spin rage,'' picked up the front of Sugarman's bike and pushed him into the wall, according to the complaint. The severity of the impact caused Sugarman's head and back to ``violently strike the wall,'' and Sugarman ``violently injured his neck and back when the bike was dropped,'' according to the complaint.

Asked after his acquittal about facing a civil suit, Carter said, ``I beat him here. We'll take it as they come.''

Carter's criminal defense lawyer Michael Farkas said Sugarman's version of the incident was ``diametrically opposed'' to that offered by eyewitnesses at trial. For instance, Sugarman never struck the wall, he said.

Vigorous Defense

``It was my hope that his civil attorney would think twice about continuing to pursue this litigation'' after Sugarman's testimony, Farkas said in a telephone interview. ``We will defend this as vigorously as we did the criminal case.''

Sugarman sued Carter for ``battery,'' asking for unspecified economic damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, for his alleged neck and back injuries, according to the complaint

Sugarman sued Equinox, claiming the company had been ``careless, reckless and negligent,'' according to the complaint. He claims in the complaint that Equinox employees did not intercede and refused to call the police or an ambulance, then allegedly tried to prevent police and emergency responders from entering the East 85th Street facility. He also claims the club called him to tell him his membership was revoked while he was in the hospital, according to the complaint.

`Annoying'

In the criminal case, Assistant District Attorney Brigid Harrington told jurors Sugarman was attacked because he was ``annoying.'' During his exercise, he made loud statements, such as ``You go, girl,'' and may have flipped Carter ``the finger,'' according to Harrington.

``No matter how obnoxious, he didn't deserve to be injured,'' Harrington told jurors.

Farkas told jurors there was no way to tell whether the disc injury was caused by Carter based on Sugarman's testimony. He said while it may have been ``inappropriate'' for Carter to lift Sugarman's bike, it was not criminal. Any penalties should be civil, he told jurors.

The jury found Carter not guilty of the three misdemeanor counts prosecutors had presented to them: assault, intentional, reckless and negligent assault by means of a dangerous instrument, as well as attempted assault. An assault conviction carries a sentence of as much as one year prison.

Different Standard

Beyond reasonable doubt is the standard of proof needed to convict in a criminal case. A preponderance of the evidence is the standard for a verdict in civil cases.

Sugarman joined Sunrise Securities, a New York investment bank, in 2006 as a senior managing director, according to the firm's Web site. Before that, he was chief executive officer of Explorer Capital, Explorer Capital Distributors LLC and Yangtze Capital LLC, according to the site.

Sugarman is an investment banker and a hedge fund manager, Davis said.

The civil case is Sugarman v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., 08- 108044, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).

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To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Freifeld in New York State Supreme Court at kfreifeld@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 9, 2008 17:32 EDT