A man has been suing a print shop after he was forced to give over his money, allegedly because the tattoo printer allegedly stole his print.
Martin Spero filed a claim in the Federal Court in Brisbane, seeking damages for the alleged assault and a breach of contract.
Spero told the ABC the tattoo business he worked at had been robbed of $1,000 in cash and a laptop computer by a tattoo artist.
“The tattoo shop is just a print business and that’s where my money is,” Speri said.
He said he was approached by the tattoo artist on the night of June 1, 2017 and told to hand the money over in exchange for his tattoo, which was to be done at a location a few kilometres away from his workplace.
The tattoo artist allegedly took his laptop, wallet and mobile phone, and demanded Spera hand over the money.
When he refused, the tattoo shop’s manager allegedly asked him to take the money to his home and return it.
Later that day, Speru was allegedly assaulted and robbed at gunpoint.
His lawyer, Michael McEwen, told the court that the tattooist had “not paid his cash in full”, and that he was “unable to prove that he had paid the amount of money”.
He argued Sperus tattoo had a $3,000 price tag and that the shop should have been able to negotiate a better price for it.
“There is no doubt that Mr Speros tattoo is one of the most prestigious in the world, and as such, its very likely that the artist has paid for it,” McEwen said.
Mr McEwin said the tattoo would have been worth more than $4,000 if Sperius money was given to the tattooed client.
In the claim, S pero alleged that the printer had demanded $50,000 for the tattoo, but that the amount was not recorded.
During the hearing, he said the ink artist was “scammed” by the printer and that it was his “favourite” tattoo.
Mr McWen said the printer’s manager was a friend of Speris family, and the man did not understand why Sperini had lost the tattoo.
He said the printing company had no previous convictions, and that “there was no reason to believe Mr S peri was in a position to be robbed”.
“There was no motive to rob Mr S Peri and Mr SPeri had no reason not to trust his printer,” he said.