In the months before a fatal shooting in 2017 at the No Name Saloon and Grille, the hit show "Bar Rescue" filmed one of its segments at the Edgewater watering hole described by producers as a failing "rowdy biker bar."
But while the show may have saved the saloon, a wrongful death lawsuit claims it failed to help save one of its customers, Travis Jones, who was shot dead there on Aug. 19, 2017.
The lawsuit, filed last week in Volusia County includes Viacom Inc. and Paramount and3 Ball Entertainment,the companies which produce andbroadcast "Bar Rescue," and the No Name Saloon as defendants.
"Bar Rescue" changed the decor, butthe show's bar rehab crew failed to put in place adequate security measures to protect patrons from violence, said Winter Park attorney Steven J. Kirschner, who represents Jones’ family.
“The rescue of the bar should have emphasized the safety of customers and they failed,” Kirschner said.
Get the news delivered to your inbox: Sign up for our morning and afternoon newsletters
Jim Kelly, who identified himself as the No Name's manager, denied to The News-Journal that the bar was a rough place in a dangerous neighborhood.
“Not even close,” he said.
He said he was surprised Jones' family sued.
“We get along really good with them,” Kelly said.
In the show, Kelly said he planned to turn the bar over to his daughter, Susan.
She could not be reached.
Paramount and Viacom declined to comment through a spokeswoman and 3 Ball Entertainment did not immediately return a call.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday, Aug. 9; that’s the same day that a Volusia County jury found Rudolph Ulics guilty of manslaughter with a firearm in Jones’ killing. Ulics is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit by Jones’ family.
Ulics had been charged with second-degree murder but the jury returned the lesser charge and he will face up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Ulics represented himself at the trial and claimed self-defense, saying that Jones was hitting him and trying to take his gun.
But Assistant State Attorney Tammy Jaques said Ulics, who had been going to the bar for several months, had been angry because he was being picked on at the bar by other people. And the 29-year-oldJones, who had had no problems with Ulics before that night, became the target of Ulic’s ire when he jokingly bounced Ulic’s car up and down.
That led to a confrontation in which Ulics shot Jones in the chestoutside the bar on the property.
[READ MORE: Man claims self-defense in shooting at No Name Saloon.]
[READ MORE: Man shot, killed at No Name Saloon.]
In the months before the shooting, "Bar Rescue" and its star, “nightlife expert Jon Taffer” visited the No Name Saloon. Taffer and his team initially appeared appalled by the No Name Saloon, according to the segment posted on the show's Paramount website.
The show said the saloon’s “disreputable customer base” drove away patrons as video showed a man who had just been helped up off the floor say he drank at the bar every day. Another clip showed a man falling asleep at the bar and still another showed a woman taking her top down to expose her breasts. Taffer and his team gave thumbs down to the food, the drinks and theuncomfortable black corsets worn by the women behind the bar.
By the end of the show, the bar gets a makeover with a fresh clean look while the bar tenders get rid of the corsets in favor of comfortable tank tops. The food looks appetizing and the drinks look refreshing on the video.
According to the lawsuit, Paramount and Viacom built a bar for the No Name Saloon “in an area where there was a history of violent crimes being committed.”
When asked if he had statistics on the crime rate, Kirschner said he had put in a public records request for that information and that he would get more information during the lawsuit.
The Edgewater Police Department said they had responded to about120 incidents at thesaloon in 2016 and 2017. A brief listing of the calls show they varied greatly with some being noise complaints, an animal complaint, some medical callssome traffic accidents, a few batteries or fights and special details.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Paramount and Viacom failed to provide security and sufficient lighting to discourage violence.
“They did know the type of bar it was. They themselves said it was a rough bar. They had rough folks there who were customers at the bar,” Kirschner said. “Apparently, the customers didn’t respect the owners of the bar. They already realized that there was a very big disfunction going on at that business."
DON'T MISS AN EPISODE, SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Google Play
