Former employees sue Manny’s Blue Room Lounge after 2018 shooting

Two people who were wounded in a 2018 shooting at a south suburban nightclub that later led to a Black security guard being fatally gunned down by a white Midlothian police officer filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the now-closed Manny’s Blue Room Lounge, alleging the owners allowed “unsavory characters” into the club “knowing there would be trouble.”

Owners Irvin Smith and his wife, Nakeeah Buchanan Smith, who also owns Luxury U.S. which managed Manny’s, are accused of allowing “characters in the club they knew would confront and cause problems with other patrons,” the complaint said. They also allegedly failed to listen to and ignored security personnel on the night of the shooting.

The complaint also claims that the property owner, Laverne Williams and Emmanual Williams Trust, was negligent and “turned a blind eye to the goings on” at the bar, formerly located at 2911 S. Claire Blvd. in Robbins.

Monique Jordan and Dorian Myrickes were at Manny’s when a gunman opened fire and wounded four people in the early hours of Nov. 11, 2018. Earlier in the night, the gunman was among a group of people who were booted from Manny’s for flashing gang signs and allegedly using illegal substances, the complaint said.

But several of those individuals were allowed to reenter the club because “it was Saturday night, and they wanted their money, knowing there would be trouble,” the complaint said.

After a fight broke out, Jordan, who was working as a bartender, and Myrickes, who was a contracted security officer, were shot.

The complaint alleges that Jordan and Myrickes suffered pain, anxiety, permanent injury, and monetary loss and expenses since the incident.

“Luxury U.S. had a duty to run an establishment which was a safe environment for its patrons, clientele, employees, and security staff, and with proper licenses,” the complaint said.

The complaint also accused Williams Trust of failing “to monitor its tenants’ obligations under the lease or the requirements of the law,” alleging Manny’s failed to maintain a proper business and state liquor licenses.

“Trust had a duty of care to make sure illegal activity was not being conducted and proper business was being operated at the property,” the complaint said.

The suit is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

Last month, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx’s office said it wouldn’t bring charges in the fatal shooting of Jemel Roberson, an armed security officer working for Manny’s on the night of the shooting.

Midlothian police officer Ian Covey shot and killed Roberson, who had subdued a suspected gunman after the barroom shooting, the Sun-Times previously reported.

Read the full complaint here:

Complaint at Law.pdf