Shadi Jamal Murfiq has filed a lawsuit against the recently shuttered nightclub, The Vibe, and others seeking $10 million in compensatory and $10 million in punitive damages for injuries he allegedly suffered there.
In the lawsuit, filed by Marcos Garza of The Garza Law Firm, Murfiq claims to have lost his left eye after being shot in the head by a bouncer at The Vibe.
Defendants in the suit are: Kevin Cherry individually and dba The Vibe and dba KJ’s Entertainment Group; The Vibe; KJ’s Entertainment Group; Julian Dashan Goines (identified as the bouncer); and property owners Fred J. Drumheller individually and dba Drumheller Real Estate Management Partnership; Stephen Thomas Drumheller individually and dba Drumheller Real Estate Management Partnership; Drumheller Real Estate Management Partnership; the city of Knoxville.
The suit, filed May 15, alleges both assault and premises liability:
“Defendant Goines, a bouncer at The Vibe defendants’ nightclub, shot plaintiff in the side of the head as plaintiff walked away with his friend after he intervened in an argument between his friend and Goines. Plaintiff lost his left eye.
“The Vibe had an extensive history of drug and alcohol violations and criminal activity,” the suit alleges. It says the city of Knoxville “had knowledge of the criminal activity and that The Vibe was a nuisance but did not file a petition for abatement of nuisance against The Vibe.”
Read Betty Bean’s earlier story here.