Brown V Beamers Private Club Et Al. (FILED) PDF
Brown V Beamers Private Club Et Al. (FILED) PDF
CAUSE NO. ESTATE OF JERRY J. BROWN, JR., and JERRY J. BROWN, SR., Plaintiffs, v. BEAMERS PRIVATE CLUB, d/b/a PRIVAE LOUNGE, BAVARIAN MANAGEMENT, LLC, and ADRCC, LLC, and SHAROUZ FERDOWS Defendants. PLAINTIFFS ORIGINAL PETITION Jerry Brown, Jr. died tragically in a car accident because Defendants decided his life was worth less than the price of so many bottles of alcohol. Defendants decision not only cost Jerry Brown, Jr. his life, but also violated the law. Mr. Browns estate, and his father, Jerry J. Brown Sr., therefore file this action that justice may be done. I. DISCOVERY PLAN 1. Plaintiffs will conduct discovery under a Level 3 discovery plan. II. PARTIES 2. Plaintiff Estate of Jerry Brown, Jr. is a citizen of Missouri because that IN THE DISTRICT COURT
is where Jerry Brown, Jr. resided, and intended to reside. 3. Jerry Brown, Sr. is also a citizen of Missouri because he resides and
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(hereafter Privae), is a Texas non-profit corporation, who may be served with process by serving Schahrouz Ferdows, Privaes registered agent, at 10505 Shady Trail, Dallas, Texas, or where ever he may be found. 5. Defendant Bavarian Management, LLC is a Texas limited liability
company doing business in Dallas County, and may be served with process by serving Schahrouz Ferdows, its manager and registered agent, at 10505 Shady Trail, Dallas, Texas, or where ever he may be found. 6. Defendant ADRCC, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company doing
business in Dallas County, and may be served with process by serving Schahrouz Ferdows, its manager and registered agent, at 10505 Shady Trail, Dallas, Texas, or where ever he may be found. 7. Defendant Schahrouz Ferdows is a Texas citizen who may be served
with process at his residence, 16515 Preston Trail Drive, Dallas, Texas, or wherever he may be found. III. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 8. Venue is proper in this county because, as shown below, all or
substantially all of the events that give rise to this action occurred in Dallas County. 9. The Court may exercise personal jurisdiction over Defendants because
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Plaintiffs seek far exceed the jurisdictional minimum of this Court. IV. FACTS 11. Happy. Humble. Loving. Loyal. Exemplary. These are the words
that describe Jerry J. Brown, Jr. (Jerry). Jerry has also been described as a talented football player. 12. After a decorated prep football career, Jerry was one of the most highly
recruited, and highest rated, defensive ends in the country. 13. Jerry had scholarship offers from some of the best football programs in
the country, including the University of Illinois, where he would play defensive end for three seasons. 14. When his days of playing for the Fighting Illini were over, Jerry played
professional football. 15. After stints with NFL teams such as the Indianapolis Colts,
Jerry agreed to play linebacker on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. 16. Jerry landed in Dallas mostly because of his desire to play with Josh
Brent, Jerrys best friend and former Illinois teammate. 17. Playing for Dallas was a dream come true for Jerry. But, because of
Defendants misconduct, Jerrys dreams, along with his life, ended too soon. 18. Jerry was a guest at Defendants private lounge known as Privae on
December 7, 2012.
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Privae is a private club that does not have its own liquor license.
Privae instead uses the liquor license for Beamers Private Club, license number 719325. Defendants ADRCC and Bavarian Management own the facility that Privae uses to conduct its business. 20. Jerry arrived at Privae with Josh Brent, and were later joined by
several other Cowboys players. 21. that night. 22. One Privae employee boasted on Twitter that 12 Cowboys are in By Defendants own admission, the alcohol flowed freely at Privae
theeee [sic] building, and that those fools are buying Ace on top of Ace!!!! 23. The employees reference to an Ace was not a reference to face cards
or a poker game. 24. 25. Ace refers to the highbrow champagne label Ace of Spades. And buying Aces is not a reference to buying a glass of champagne
either. To buy an Ace is to buy a bottle of champagne, as in these fools are buying (and Defendants are serving) bottle of champagne on top of bottle of champagne. 26. After Brent had consumed many alcoholic drinks, the party broke up,
sometime around 2:00 a.m. (December 8), the hour that Privae closes. 27. at the wheel. Jerry and Brent then left Privae in Brents 2007 Mercedes, with Brent
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drinks that night, Brent lost the mental and physical faculties required to safely operate his car on a public roadway. 29. In fact, later test results would show that Brents level of intoxication
that night more than doubled the legal limit. 30. What is more, Brent is 6 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighs roughly
320 pounds. So he must have consumed many of Privaes drinks to become that inebriated. 31. Unable to safely operate his car, Brent drove his Mercedes at a high
rate of speed into a curb. The cars speed coupled with the collision with the curb caused the car to flip at least once and then to catch fire. 32. 33. Brent escaped the car with minor physical injuries. Jerry didnt. Responding to at least two 911 calls, the police arrived on the scene at
about 2:20 a.m. to see Brent removing an unconscious Jerry from the wreckage. 34. As responders attended to Jerrys medical needs, other officers
questioned Brent. 35. It was while Brent answered the officers questions that one officer
noticed a moderate odor of alcohol emitting from [Brents] breath. 36. 37. he failed. Upon further questioning, Brent admitted to consuming alcohol. The officers then administered field sobriety tests to Brent, which
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time that Brent left Privae with Jerry as a passenger in his vehicle. 39. Because Jerry was unconscious and unresponsive, he was transported
to Parkland hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 40. According to police, the cause of death of Mr. Brown was a result of
Mr. [Brents] Intoxication [sic] level. 41. Autopsy results later showed that Jerry died of blunt force trauma.
The same autopsy confirmed that Jerrys level of intoxication was far below the legal limit. 42. After the incident the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC)
began investigating Privae. 43. As a result of the investigation, TABC investigators found sufficient
evidence against Privae to indicate that Privae had sold alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person (Brent) and conducted practices that caused Privae patrons to consume an excessive amount of alcohol. 44. Jerrys tragic death devastated his father, Jerry J. Brown, Sr.
(Jerry Sr.), and his family. 45. People sometimes referred to Jerry as Jerry Sr.s twin. The two were
not only close as a father and son, but they were also the best of friends. 46. They spoke every week, and usually several times a week.
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Jerry frequently shared his dreams with Jerry Sr. In fact, just before
his death, Jerry expressed his excitement about the prospect of suiting up for the Cowboys and his immense gratitude to God for the opportunity. 48. Jerry Sr.s love for, and pride in, his son is matched only by his grief for
the loss of his son and friend. V. CAUSES OF ACTION COUNT I: VIOLATION OF THE DRAM SHOP ACT 49. As licensed providers of alcohol under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Code, Defendants had a duty to refrain from serving obviously intoxicated individuals, such as Brent, with alcoholic beverages because, while intoxicated, Brent posed a substantial danger to the public, himself, and Jerry. 50. Yet, Defendants served Ace after Ace to Brent, despite his obvious
intoxication and the fact that he presented a clear danger to himself and the public. 51. The obviousness of Brents intoxication was manifest from the volume
of drinks that Defendants servedand bragged about servingto Brent, and from the physical clues Brent exhibited. Indeed, only shortly after leaving Privae, Brent exhibited to police multiple signs of intoxication, such as his inability to pass field sobriety tests and his reeking of alcohol. 52. Brents intoxication caused Jerrys death because the alcohol
Defendants served impaired Brents mental and physical ability to operate his vehicle and were therefore a substantial cause of the crash that claimed Jerrys life.
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from Defendants violations of the law. COUNT II: WRONGFUL DEATH 54. 55. As Jerrys father, Jerry Sr. is a statutory beneficiary of Jerrys estate. Defendants are associations of individuals whose wrongful actions
serving alcohol to an obviously intoxicated Brentcaused the death of Jerry Sr.s son. 56. Had Jerry survived his injuries, he could have brought an action on his
own against Defendants to recover for their wrongdoing. As shown above, Jerry has a cause of action under the Dram Shop Act against Defendants. 57. As a result of Defendants wrongful conduct, Jerry Sr. has suffered
substantial losses, including loss of services, expenses for psychological treatment, funeral expenses, mental anguish, and loss of companionship, for which he now seeks recovery. COUNT III: NEGLIGENCE PER SE 58. Privae had a statutory duty under section 2.02 of the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Code, among other code sections, to ensure that its employees were properly trained, and did not over-serve Brent with alcohol. 59. Despite its statutory duty to train its employees, and to avoid serving
obviously intoxicated individuals, Privae continued serving alcohol to Brent. 60. Privaes conduct caused Brent to become a danger to himself and the
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intoxicated, Jerry was one of the persons that these statutes were meant to protect. 62. 63. negligence. COUNT IV: NEGLIGENCE 64. Defendants Bavarian Management and ADRCC own the facility and There was no excuse for Privaes violations of the law. Privae is therefore liable to Jerrys estate for all damages caused by its
land where Privae conducts its business and have a duty to ensure that all business conducted there is conducted safely. 65. Bavarian Management and ADRCC have this duty because, through
Schahrouz Ferdows, they have control over Privaes business, and the manner that Privae conducts its business on the premises, including the ability to require Privae to observe and follow all laws and regulations related to the serving and consumption of alcohol on the premises. 66. Notwithstanding their control over the property and Privaes business
practices, Bavarian Management and ADRCC failed to stop Privae from violating the law, including on the night of December 7, 2012, when Jerry was tragically killed as a result of Privaes violations of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code. 67. Bavarian Management and ADRCC are therefore liable to Jerrys
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COUNT V: ALTER EGO 68. Privae was organized as a non-profit corporation to operate as a mere
tool or business conduit for entities that Ferdow owns, such as ADRCC and Bavarian Management. Ferdow owns Privae and siphons Privaes profits to himself and to his other entities, such as ADRCC and Bavarian Management. As a result, Privae is inadequately capitalized. 69. Ferdows, ADRCC, and Bavarian Management created Privae to
circumvent statutes that would require them to personally comply with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, and thus act as a means for their avoiding liability resulting from the violation of such laws. 70. Given Privaes non-profit status and inadequate capitalization, it
would be unjust to hold only Privae liable for Plaintiffs injuries as Plaintiffs will be left with an uncollectible judgment against Privae while Ferdow, ADRCC, and Bavarian Management remain free of liability. PRAYER 71. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray that the Court enter judgment against
Defendants, award Plaintiffs their actual damages, along with pre- and postjudgment interest, and any other relief to which Plaintiffs may be entitled in law or equity.
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Respectfully submitted, /s/ E. Leon Carter E. Leon Carter State Bar No. 03914300 [email protected] Joshua J. Bennett Texas State Bar No. 24059444 [email protected] CARTER STAFFORD ARNETT HAMADA & MOCKLER, PLLC 8150 N. Central Expy, Ste. 1950 Dallas, Texas 75206 Telephone: 214-550-8188 Facsimile: 214-550-8185 N. Scott Rosenblum ROSENBLUM SCHWARTZ ROGERS & GLASS, PC 120 South Central Ave., Ste. 130 Saint Louis, MO 63105 Telephone: 314-667-4585 Facsimile: 314-862-8050 *Application for admission Pro Hac Vice Pending COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF
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