Nightclub workers were complicit in the death of an Egg Harbor Township teen who was found dead after fleeing a beating at the venue, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the man's mother.
The lawsuit claims Centerfolds was negligent in its employee training, allowing Irving Mayren-Guzman to drink underage, then stood by as he was beaten and then forced him to face the elements injured, drunk and without his phone.
Mayren-Guzman was found dead in the marsh off Delilah Road on Jan. 25, after two days of exhaustive searches.
They were "complicit in the tragic events leading up to Irving's death," attorney Randolph Lafferty said at a news conference announcing the suit.
A website has been set up at justice4irving.com for anyone with information about the case.
Mayren-Guzman was only 19, but was able to get into the club at 1:30 that morning under the condition that he buy $25 worth of alcohol, according to the lawsuit.
The teen surpassed that and was allowed to continue drinking for two hours, even after he became visibly intoxicated, the suit claims.
Video surveillance shows him later being escorted out of the front of the club. He was then beaten by club patrons Jamaul Timberlake and brothers John and Garnell Hands, according to pending charges.
Those three men remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility. No one has been charged in Mayren-Guzman's death, which has not been determined a homicide at this time.
The employees not only witnessed the assault and failed to intervene, but then blocked Mayren-Guzman from walking past the club toward where his friends have said they were parked, the suit claims.
Instead, he fled in the opposite direction.
The employees did nothing to help him, "despite being fully aware that Irving was under the influence of alcohol, was ill-prepared for the harsh winter environment, was not in possession of his cell phone, was potentially injured from the assault that they either orchestrated or permitted to occur, and was impaired both physically and mentally as a result of their conduct," the suit states.
The eight-count suit includes allegations of serving intoxicating beverages to an underage individual, battery, negligent security and vicarious liability.
It also claims an attempt to conceal evidence and dangerous condition of property because there was no barrier between it and the marsh where Mayren-Guzman's body was found.
The suit also allows for several not-yet-identified individuals and/or business entities.
