Carolyn's Lounge named in lawsuit after a man is shot and killed

The estate of a man who was shot and killed and another man who was assaulted outside of a lounge are suing the establishment for negligence.

Amber Montgomery, as special administrator for the estate of Kyle C Matthews, and Tremeice Dangerfield filed a lawsuit Oct. 18 in Cook County Circuit Court against Valell Corporation, doing business as Carolyn's Lounge; Carolyn Burton, individually and as President of Valell Corp.; Leonard Lee, individually and as an employee of Valell Corp., unknown employees of Valell Corp., and bar patrons Arthur Bettis and Maurice Jones.

Their suit alleges negligence, wrongful death, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and cites the state's Survival Act.

The plaintiffs say that on Oct. 30, 2011, Kyle Matthews and Tremeice Dangerfield were at Carolyn's Lounge, 1744 N. Central Ave. in Chicago, where Arthur Bettis and Maurice Jones  were allowed to bring in and consume their own bottles of alcohol.

According to the complaint, Bettis and Jones became intoxicated and assaulted patrons of  before being removed by the lounge's employees, including Leonard Lee.

The complaint claims that Bettis and Jones left and retrieved a handgun before returning to Carolyn's Lounge, and then assaulted and battered both plaintiffs before shooting and killing Matthews in front of the employees.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limit. They are being represented in the case by attorneys Jeffrey J. Neslund of the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Neslund and Irene K. Dymkar of the Law Offices of Irene K. Dymkar.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L011559.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.