The owners and insurer of a strip club in Prairieville, now closed down, have been named in a wrongful death suit by the widow of a man that was beaten to death at the club in 2011, as reported by The Advocate.
This is the second wrongful death lawsuit filed against the club regarding the same victim – the first was filed in 2011.
A.D.T. lost her husband, W.H.T. IV, 28, on May 4, 2011, in the parking lot of the Suthern Kumfort Lounge. She is seeking a trial by jury and yet to be disclosed damages.
The Suthern Kumfort Lounge parking lot is located alongside the Airline Highway.
The man that beat W.H.T. IV to death, Z.P., 21, was found guilty of second-degree murder on March 14 and sentenced to life in prison on April 9.
Though Z.P. is not named in the wrongful death lawsuit two officials of the club are named: S.D., 57 and C.P., 62. Both defendants are residents of Prairieville. The suit states that S.D. is the operator of the Suthern Kumfort Lounge and C.P. owns the club property and is the de facto owner of the business.
C.P. and S.D employed Z.P. According to the lawsuit both men are liable for the death of W.H.T. IV. Also named as liable is First Financial Insurance Company, the lounge's insurer.
C.P., a convicted sexual offender, has been accused, along with S.D., of trying to keep his name hidden as the true owner of the business. In 2011 both were arrested and indicted on counts of filing false public records, allegedly to further their scheme.
Allen Davis, the attorney representing A.D.T., said that the reason for the suit was so that his client could preserve her legal rights against Suthern Kumfort's rights.
According to court records, on the one-year anniversary of W.H.T. IV's death, May 4, the wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the 23rd Judicial District Court.
The first wrongful death suit was filed on behalf of W.H.T. IV's son A.T. The boy's mother, R.G, filed the suit. R.G. also named S.D., C.P. and Suthern Kumfort as defendants, as they employed S.P. That lawsuit is currently pending.
The attorney for Suthern Kumfort Lounge, Joe Long, along with S.D., has maintained that Z.P. was not an employee – he was an independent contractor.
Long also claims that C.P. is not involved in the lounge's business.
After W.H.T. IV's beating death, the Suthern Kumfort Lounge closed its doors and has not reopened for business. Jessica Starns, an attorney with the Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control, said that the lounge's state alcohol permit has been suspended indefinitely. Furthermore, according to Starns, the ATC has an open case against the club.
Any time that a loved one looses their life in an unnatural setting, you need to consider the possibility that it was a wrongful death and therefore worthy of litigation. Contact a personal injury lawyer for help!