A Fort Dodge man who was stabbed nearly a dozen times at a New Year’s party on Jan. 1, 2018, has been awarded $20 million in damages by a Webster County jury on Thursday.

According to court documents, Chad Ruby, 33, of Fort Dodge, was at a New Year’s party hosted by Justina Sheehan at 1510 Fifth Ave. N.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2018, a physical fight broke out at the party and Ruby was stabbed 10 times in the back and once in the head. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and soon after transported to Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines with serious injuries.

Through the investigation, Alyssa Slusser, 29, was identified as the assailant and in June 2018 she was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor. In August 2018, Slusser pleaded guilty to the charge of assault. She was sentenced to two years probation and a $625 that was suspended. Slusser completed her probation in August 2020.

In July 2019, Ruby sued Sheehan and Slusser for negligence and assault and battery, respectively. Kelley Krause, who owned the rental house on Fifth Avenue North, was also named in the lawsuit for negligence. In January 2021, both Sheehan and Krause received summary judgments finding them not liable for Ruby’s injuries.

A jury trial was held this week at the Webster County Courthouse to determine if Slusser would be held civilly responsible for assaulting Ruby. On Thursday, the jury returned a verdict finding in Ruby’s favor, issuing $20 million in total damages.

The jury issued the following damages:

• $1 million for loss of full mind and body, past.

• $2 million for loss of full mind and body, future.

• $4 million for physical and mental pain and suffering, past.

• $2 million for physical and mental pain and suffering, future.

• $11 million in punitive damages.

On Feb. 24, Slusser had filed an offer to confess judgment in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $100,000.

“On behalf of Chad, I would like to thank the jury for their service in this case,” said Matt Sahag, attorney for Ruby. “With this verdict, the jury has unequivocally disavowed violence in Webster County, Iowa. This is Iowa justice.”

Sahag is with the Dickey, Campbell & Sahag Law Firm PLC of Des Moines.

In April 2020, Slusser made a counterclaim against Ruby, alleging that Ruby had actually assaulted Slusser and that throughout the night of the party, Ruby “was trying to instigate physical altercations with numerous individuals” at the party.

District Court Judge Angela Doyle ruled in January 2021 that Slusser’s counterclaims were barred by the two-year statute of limitations.