HOUSTON - An R&B concert turns into a brawl, a gatekeeper pulls her gun and two wrongful death cases are among new lawsuits filed in Southeast Texas.
Lloyd Polite and Dontae Cunningham v. Bar 5015 and Steve Rogers
Harris County District Court, Oct. 23
Polite, known professionally as Lloyd, is a successful R&B singer and is suing over mayhem during a performance at Houston's Bar 5015.
He says the club failed to provide a safe and secure venue for an Oct. 30, 2022, concert at which he was to perform two or three songs. Cunningham, his road manager, voiced safety concerns to the club - specifically, a lot of people in a small space.
After a couple of songs, Lloyd and his companions tried to leave but were blocked by security guards, the suit says. One guard pulled a gun in the parking lot and another prevented Lloyd's Uber driver from leaving, the suit says.
Eventually, Cunningham was struck in the head by a guard's elbow, it is alleged. When he came to, he was being arrested by the Houston Police Department, though charges were dropped.
"The Plaintiffs later learned that the armed female security guard, and possibly other security guards from the club, was a peace officer," the suit says. "However, neither she, nor any of the other guards identified themselves as such."
Daryl Washington of Washington Law Firm in Dallas represents the plaintiffs.
Juan Patino v. Trojan EV, et al.
Harris County District Court, Oct. 22
Patino is suing over the death of his son Dustin Patino, on behalf of all wrongful death beneficiaries. Defendants are companies involved in the making and selling of a 2023 Trojan EV, model X-4 golf cart.
Another defendant is Bentwood Country Club, where Dustin met friends at a pool bar on June 29. Dustin sat in the rear-facing seat on the passenger side of the golf cart when they headed back to a friend's home after drinking alcohol at the pool, the suit says.
It is alleged the arm rest/hip restraint on Patino's seat broke off and led to him being ejected from the cart, striking his head on the ground and causing fatal injuries. The driver's blood-alcohol level was found to be over the legal limit, the suit says.
Alexander Ramos, et al. v. Texas Bridgegate Associates, et al.
Harris County District Court, Oct. 24
The suit blames carbon monoxide for the death of Reyna Maria Barrera and is brought by her husband and on behalf of others allegedly injured. Owners of The Vintage apartment complex on West 43rd St. are named as defendants.
A report from the City said a generator was found in a closet in June 2023 powering various electrical items, causing carbon monoxide to spread through apartments. Defendants knew or should have known of the danger a running generator would pose, Ramos claims.
Gabriella Tellez v. Harris County, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Oct. 22
Tellez was arrested in 2022 for felony assault with a deadly weapon, even though she was simply protecting herself from an aggressive man who had just been released from prison, the suit says.
She was working at an impound lot that the county uses to store vehicles of the jailed and was armed. The man came to get his car but was slamming the grate of the window of her work booth while yelling at her, she says.
Though she tried to explain the proper procedures for getting his car back, ultimately she was forced to call 911, she says. When he forced his way onto the lot, she drew her gun and pointed it at him. He left, the suit says, and she called 911 again.
No one responded to her calls, but seven units responded when the man called 911, the suit says. She is suing over her subsequent arrest and seizure of property, as deputies allegedly accepted the man's version of events as true.
Elia Cornejo Lopez v. City of Brownsville and City Manager Noel Bernal
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Oct. 22
Lopez, a former district court judge, says the city breached an earlier settlement that resulted from her discrimination charges. That settlement requires Brownsville to post municipal court judicial positions and conduct fair interviews pursuant to the Civil Rights Act, the suit says.
Brownsville not doing so has kept Lopez from a fair opportunity to compete for the presiding municipal court judge job, while the city is "intentionally appointing a lesser qualified male," the suit says.