The first of several expected lawsuits in the Jacksonville Landing mass shooting was filed by a man who was shot in the incident.
Jacob Mitich was at Chicago Pizza and the GLHF gaming bar during the shooting, which took the lives of two gamers and injured 11 others.
The suit does not seek a specific dollar amount -- just in excess of $15,000 -- and names nine defendants:
- Electronic Arts Inc. (the creators of the Madden game which was being played at the tournament)
- Jacksonville Landing Investments, LLC
- Property Management Support, Inc.
- Sleiman Enterprises, Inc.
- Chicago Pizza & Sports Grille II, Inc.
- GLHF ESports Bar, LLC
- Allied Universal Corp.
- Clifton Comastro (Owner of Chicago Pizza
The city of Jacksonville, which owns the property under the Landing, is not named as a defendant.
Mitich's attorney, James Young with Morgan & Morgan, said in a statement:
“Like many of his friends, Jacob Mitich traveled to Jacksonville last weekend to do what he loved. He trusted the event host and organizers, and believed that he was walking into a safe space. That trust was shattered when shots rang out in an over-crowded, since-shut-down, non-permitted space. Combined with an alleged abject failure to provide adequate security, the result was tragic. We are bringing this lawsuit to hold those responsible accountable, and to ensure that gamers like Jake are able to get together to pursue their passion without having to fear for their lives.”
The lawsuit notes that other violent incidents have occurred at The Landing, including a stabbing at Fionn MacCool's bar in 2012, and the shooting of two teens in 2017, in which one teen died.
"Despite its [The Landing] history of violent crime, and for reasons which remain unclear The Landing (more specifically, Chicago Pizza/GLHF) was chosen by the multibillion dollar publicly traded video game giant, Defendant EA, as the host location for a regional qualifier of the Madden Classic video game tournament," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit addresses the business model of the GLHF gaming bar stating that, "Ironically, GLHF purportedly stands for 'Good Luck, Have fun' and operates as a video game arcade within Chicago Pizza's leased space."
The lawsuit also highlights alterations were made to Chicago Pizza to accommodate GLHF, which were not approved by the city of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division, as First Coast News previously reported.
Read the full complaint here:
