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4/21/2015 Family of Man Murdered Near Dolphin Nightclub Sues City, Club Owner - Bucktown - DNAinfo.com Chicago
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Family of Man Murdered Near Dolphin Nightclub Sues City,
Club Owner
By Paul Biasco | April 20, 2015 7:49pm
@Paul_Biasco
BUCKTOWN — The family of a 35-year-old man who was
killed outside the Dolphin nightclub last month filed a lawsuit
against the city and club Monday.
The family of Deonta Jackson claims the city ignored Ald. Scott
Waguespack's (32nd) repeated requests to close Dolphin ahead of
the shooting, which left Jackson and another man dead.
A shooting at the Dolphin killed two.
Steve Jensen

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4/21/2015 Family of Man Murdered Near Dolphin Nightclub Sues City, Club Owner - Bucktown - DNAinfo.com Chicago
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Despite Waguespack's requests, the lawsuit says, the club remained
open.
Because of this, the suit claims the city was negligent and caused an
unreasonably dangerous situation.
"Alderman Waguespack made numerous requests for [Green
Dolphin Street’s] late-night license to be revoked," said Robert J.
Smoler, Jackson's attorney. "A tragedy like this could have been
prevented had the City honored those requests.”
The shooting March 16 occurred after a fight inside Dolphin, at 2200
N. Ashland Ave., spilled out into the street just after 3 a.m.
The group involved in the fight was sitting outside the club when a
gunman opened fire, leaving Jackson and 41-year-old Elijah Moore
dead, Chicago Police have said. A third person was wounded.
The shooting remains under investigation and there are no suspects
in custody.
Luneisha Wade, the mother of Jackson's daughter, filed the five-
count complaint Monday against the city of Chicago, the Green
Dolphin and the club's owner, Sam Menetti.
Menetti could not be reached for comment.
Wade currently lives in Kentucky with Jackson's 11-year-old
daughter and is originally from Chicago, according to her attorney.
The suit alleges wrongful death and seeks more than $250,000 in
damages.

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4/21/2015 Family of Man Murdered Near Dolphin Nightclub Sues City, Club Owner - Bucktown - DNAinfo.com Chicago
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Jackson was pushed toward the north exit doors of the nightclub and
while he was being pushed, the gunman approached Jackson and
shot him dead, according to the lawsuit.
The Dolphin has been cited and fined more than a dozen times since
2006 and was closed in 2010, but reopened "per a court order"
according to a mayor's spokeswoman.
Since 2013 there have been 11 aggravated batteries, 11 assaults, 42
batteries and one sexual assault in the Dolphin or in the immediate
surrounding area, according to police data.
Two of the aggravated batteries were stabbings, according to police
data.
The nightclub has remained shuttered since the morning of the
shooting.
The owner of the club voluntarily closed for 60 days while re-
evaluating the situation, according to John Holden, a spokesman for
the city's Department of Law.
Holden said the department has not had an opportunity to review
the suit filed Monday and was unable to comment.
Immediately following the shooting a spokeswoman for Mayor Rahm
Emanuel said the city would seek to bring a case against the club to
shut it down, but that case has yet to be filed, according to Cook
County court records.
Waguespack, the alderman of the 32nd Ward where Dolphin is
located, ripped the city for not pulling the Dolphin's license before

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4/21/2015 Family of Man Murdered Near Dolphin Nightclub Sues City, Club Owner - Bucktown - DNAinfo.com Chicago
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the shooting.
"It's frustrating because we really pushed hard to get some of these
bad actor, late-night businesses closed down. It's hard when you go
to the Liquor Commission and they keep these places open," he said
the day of the shooting.
The alderman had called for the closure of the club after previous
violent incidents.
The 13,000-square-foot Green Dolphin underwent a $1 million
renovation in 2012 and re-opened as the Dolphin in January 2013
with a focus on electronic music and the dance club.