The family of a 31-year-old Ontario man who died outside the Halifax Alehouse has filed two lawsuits against the bar.

Ryan Michael Sawyer was found on the ground near the bar on Christmas Eve in 2022 and was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

According to the lawsuit filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, it alleges 37-year-old Alexander Pishori Levy intentionally assaulted Sawyer and choked him until he lost consciousness.

They accuse the bar of being negligent for hiring Levy as a bouncer, but the Alehouse denies wrongdoing.

Levy has been charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence and has pleaded not guilty.

In 2023, Levy pleaded not guilty in a separate assault case stemming from an incident in October of 2022.

No trial date has been set for the manslaughter charges and it is not clear when the lawsuit will be heard in Supreme Court.

None of the allegations have been proven either court.