Tacoma security guard was fatally shot on night off. Ensuing legal dispute ends
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- An off-duty security guard was killed outside a Tacoma bar and club in 2023.
- His estate confidentially settled a lawsuit against the Night Owl Lounge’s property owner.
- The lawsuit had alleged defendants failed to protect the victim, Joseph Briggs, 39.
A representative of an off-duty security guard killed outside a Tacoma lounge has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the business’ property owner, according to an attorney.
Joseph Briggs, 39, was shot multiple times in the chest on Sept. 10, 2023, and found by police lying in the Night Owl Lounge’s parking lot, The News Tribune previously reported. Briggs provided security at the bar and club on 5211 South Tacoma Way, but he wasn’t working that night. Prior to being shot, he was intervening as three women were being assaulted by three men, charging documents said.
A personal representative of Briggs’ estate, who filed the lawsuit in 2024 alleging that several entities were liable for Briggs’ death, reached a settlement with the Night Owl Lounge’s property owner, STW, LLC, on Feb. 10, according to attorney Jonathan Nolley.
Nolley, who represents the plaintiff, said in a brief interview Tuesday that the terms of the agreement were confidential. With the settlement, claims were dismissed against the property owner and all other defendants, including the lounge’s operators and hired security company, court records show.
A message left for attorneys representing STW, LLC, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
The lawsuit claimed defendants failed on several fronts: to provide adequate security and surveillance, monitor potentially harmful activity, remove dangerous or unauthorized people from the premises and respond to an immediate threat posed by criminals in the business’ parking lot, among other alleged negligence.
In court-filed responses, attorneys representing the defendants denied wrongdoing. Legal counsel for the club’s operators also rejected the lawsuit’s characterization of the business as having “a terrible history of crime and violence.”
Two men were charged with murder in Briggs’ death. Jerzell Martwon White and Keenan David Blakely ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser offenses and were released from custody because the prosecution faced significant issues with evidence and witnesses to prove its murder case, The News Tribune previously reported.
