The following report is courtesy of Walter Putnam from the Associated Press:

The lead guitarist for the rock group RUSH has won a round in a lawsuit claiming that he and his son were roughed up by deputies while being ejected from a black-tie New Year's Eve party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Naples, Fla.

A federal appeals court says a lower court judge in Florida was wrong to dismiss a negligence claim by Alex Lifeson's son against the hotel and the security manager on duty at the time of the Dec. 31, 2003 altercation.

However, an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the dismissal of the rest of the claims by Lifeson and his son - including the contention that the Collier County deputies violated their civil rights by using excessive force.

Tasers were used on Lifeson, whose real name is Alex Zivojinovich, and his son, Justin Zivojinovich. Lifeson's nose was broken.

According to court documents, the two were at the party with Justin's wife, Michelle, when Justin started dancing boisterously, waving his arms, dancing with four women at the same time and shoving a couple apart to dance with the woman without asking. He jumped on the stage, wished everyone a happy New Year's, then returned to his table.

When he started dancing again, this time with a male friend, the night shift manager, Frank Barner, radioed the front desk and told the employee there to call the sheriff's office.

The three deputies responding to the call were told only that there was a disturbance at the Ritz, two men acting unruly, getting up on the stage and refusing to cooperate.

Arriving after Justin returned to the stage and was told by Barner to get down, the deputies escorted Justin out of the ballroom with his father following behind, leading to a struggle and the Taser incident in a stairwell.

Criminal charges resulted. In 2006, Lifeson, 54, and his son accepted a plea deal that included no jail time. They filed suit, claiming excessive force and negligence on the part of the hotel staff leading to injuries by the deputies.

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