KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Lawrence woman has sued a Kansas City nightclub and former Chiefs running back Larry Johnson over an October 2008 incident at the Plaza area establishment.
Ashley N. Stewart filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court. She alleges that the Blonde nightclub failed to provide a safe environment and knew that Johnson posed a risk to the establishment's patrons.
She is also suing Johnson, now a Cincinnati Bengals running back, for neglience and assault and battery.
Stewart alleges in her lawsuit that Johnson on Oct. 3, 2008, attempted to buy her a shot of alcohol and that she declined. She maintains that on Oct. 10, 2008, that a confrontation with Johnson occurred.
The lawsuit says Johnson had a tendency "to become aggressive and violent when consuming excessive quanities of alcohol," as he had that night. Stewart claims that Johnson became combative and belligerent toward her and was aggressive and threatening both verbally and physically.
She claims that Johnson used profanity in threatening to kill both her and her boyfriend. She says Johnson "then took a drink from his glass and then sprayed the plaintiff with the drink by spitting it in her face." She alleges that Johnson's two bodyguards then used excessive force to tackle her. Stewart claims she complained to a manager but he went back inside and was not present when Johnson attempted to spit on her three more times.
Stewart is seeking unspecified damages.
This is the second time Stewart has sued Johnson over the incident. She originally filed a lawsuit in 2008. Johnson's attorney has been strenously fighting the lawsuit. In August, Johnson's attorney successfully got the judge handling the lawsuit to order Stewart to submit to a mental examination. The judge also denied in October Stewart's attempt to amend her original lawsuit. In November, Johnson's attorney submitted more questions to Stewart for her to answer.
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Stewart successfully got that first lawsuit, which was solely against Johnson, dismissed.
Johnson was sentenced to two years probation in March for the incident involving Stewart and a second nightclub incident. Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of disturbing the peace. The Chiefs released Johnson in November after he repeatedly used gay slurs.
Attempts to reach representatives of Blonde were unsuccessful. Stewart is now represented by a different law firm than she had in her first lawsuit. Attempts to reach her Kansas City attorney, Charles Speer, were unsuccessful. She's also now represented by Richard H. Middleton of Savannah, Ga.
