Parents of college student killed at Elleven45 Lounge file lawsuit against club

Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The parents of a young woman shot and killed at a Buckhead nightclub last month filed a lawsuit against the club and several other parties on Tuesday, according to court records.

The suit is brought against Elleven45 Lounge’s manager, ownership, property management company and 15 unidentified defendants related to security and other duties. In it, Juan Umberto Creighton and Tracey Eason accuse the club of creating an environment where “violent criminal activity” is welcomed, failing to protect patrons.

The legal counts include three types of negligence, alongside premises liability.

READ FULL LAWSUIT:

On May 12, six people were shot at Elleven45 Lounge on Peachtree Road NW after a physical fight led to gunfire, Atlanta police said. Two people died — 20-year-old Nykris Ridley and 21-year-old Mari Creighton.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 killed, 4 injured in Buckhead nightclub shooting, police say

Creighton was at the club celebrating a birthday, her family told Atlanta News First. She attended Albany State University and played volleyball for the school’s Golden Rams.

“Mari was a beloved 21-year-old young woman with a life full of happiness still in front of her,” the lawsuit said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘I miss her so much’: Shooting victim’s sister wants city to shut down ‘not safe’ Buckhead nightclub

Records obtained by Atlanta News First show that from June 2022 to May 2024, Atlanta police were called to Elleven45 Lounge for two other shootings, 35 fights and 38 noise concerns.

Djibril Dafe, the club’s current owner, has a history of managing other worrisome locations. In 2022, the city filed a lawsuit to close Encore Hookah Bar & Bistro, a downtown nightclub due to safety concerns. According to the city, police were called to Encore more than 170 times between February 2020 and April 2022.

Dafe has not responded to Atlanta News First’s requests for comment.

RECORDS: Buckhead nightclub owner where deadly shooting happened also operated nightclub shut down in 2022

Lee Nicholson, who works with Bennett Street Properties — the property management company named in the current lawsuit — criticized how the city and media have talked about Elleven45 Lounge after the shooting.

“The only reason the media is focusing on the location and not catching the mass shooter who is at large in our city is because the victims and the club owner and the clientele are predominantly Black,” Nicholson wrote in a text to Atlanta News First. “This is systemic racism at its absolute worst. Black lives matter to me. I wish also they mattered to the media.”

In the lawsuit, Creighton’s parents seek the full value of their daughter’s life, punitive damages, and attorney fees and other legal expenses. The families of two other victims in the shooting also said they plan to take legal action against the club.

The City of Atlanta is currently seeking a temporary restraining order against Elleven45 Lounge, which would stop it from operating.

So far, nobody has been arrested in connection to the deaths.