Family sues over death at nightclub Posted by the _Asbury Park Press_ (http://www.app.com/) on 05/26/07 BY _KATHLEEN HOPKINS_ (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) TOMS RIVER BUREAU _Post Comment _ (http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070526&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=705260335&SectionCat=DWEK01&Template=printar t#comments) TOMS RIVER — The family of a 25-year-old Bass River man beaten to death outside an Asbury Park music club in January filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday in state Superior Court against the club's owners, alleging that the club booked acts that promote violence and failed to provide adequate security for the events. Attorney Patrick T. D'Arcy filed the lawsuit against Asbury Partners, LLC and AP Venture Holdings on behalf of the estate of James Morrison, a Navy veteran of the Iraq War who was found unresponsive and bleeding from the back of his head outside Club Deep on Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park about 5:50 p.m. Jan. 14. Morrison was pronounced dead less than an hour later, and an autopsy revealed the cause was blunt-force trauma to the head. Morrison had been in the club with some friends listening to music when they became involved in an altercation with another group of people over a T-shirt worn by one of Morrison's friends, authorities have said. Morrison was asked to leave the club and was escorted outside when he was punched in the right side of his face and fell backward, striking his head on the sidewalk, authorities said. Alexander J. Franklin, a 34-year-old Brooklyn tattoo artist who authorities said is associated with a gang known as FSU, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with Morrison's death. D'Arcy maintains in the lawsuit that on the day Morrison was fatally assaulted outside Club Deep, its owners, Asbury Partners and AP Venture, were hosting a show featuring a number of "hardcore" bands that "notoriously and openly promoted violence, fighting, aggression and criminal behavior as a lifestyle and, more particularly, at and during their live performances." The lawsuit alleged that the bands that played at the club that day had a "known reputation and history" of drawing gang members and individuals prone to violence, that Asbury Partners and AP Venture directly or indirectly fostered an environment of violence, intimidation and criminal behavior at the club, and that the club owners failed to provide adequate security for its patrons. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the club's owners and employees failed to summon police and medical personnel for Morrison in a timely fashion after he was assaulted. "As a direct and proximate result of the aforesaid negligence, carelessness, and breach of respective duties, the deceased plaintiff James Morrison sustained severe personal injuries, ultimately causing his death," the lawsuit said. "Defendants Asbury Partners' and/or AP Venture's actions and/or inaction were engendered by their financial considerations and motives to gain profits at the expense of the security and safety of Club Deep patrons and/or business invitees, as well (as) the security and safety of the local residents of the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey." Larry Fishman, chief operating officer of Asbury Partners, informed of the lawsuit late Friday, said he had no knowledge of it and would not comment. D'Arcy could not specify how much in damages Morrison's family is seeking. "We're trying to get fair compensation, and it (the lawsuit) is to answer questions for the family as well," D'Arcy said. "How did this happen? Why did it happen? It's a 25-year-old kid." D'Arcy said he now awaits a response from the club owners' attorneys.
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