The widow of a man killed after attending a wedding has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Capital City Country Club, alleging the venue knew about previous crime in the area and failed to keep guests safe.
The suit, filed this week in Fulton County State Court, requests a jury trial and unspecified damages for Molly Broder, whose husband died after being shot in the stomach on July 8.
“Capital City Club negligently failed to act on knowledge of prior crimes, and the surrounding high-crime area, and failed to act to correct, prevent, or warn of prior criminal activity and the dangerous environment of the premises and approaches,” the lawsuit states.
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Matt McKinney, the club’s manager, was not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit, a representative told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Christian Broder, a restaurant executive, lived in Washington, D.C., but was in Atlanta to attend a wedding. Around 12:15 a.m. as he and three others waited outside the gates of the Capital City Club in northeast Atlanta they were approached by a vehicle they believed to be their Uber driver, according to police.
Instead, investigators say four suspects robbed the wedding guests at gunpoint, and Broder was shot in the stomach. He was first treated at Piedmont Hospital before being transferred to a Washington hospital, where he died July 20. Broder, 34, is also survived by an infant daughter.
Despite being aware of previous crimes in the area, the country club did not have proper security measures in place, the suit states.
“Capital City’s negligence was a cause in fact and a proximate cause of Christian Broder’s injuries and death,” the lawsuit states.
Following Broder's death, four suspected gang members were indicted on murder charges. An AJC investigation revealed that two suspects had recent criminal records, but they were not in jail because both had been granted leniency.
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