Man sues owner of 9ine Ultra Lounge in KC after being wounded in August shooting
A Kansas City man who said he was wounded in a shooting at the 9ine Ultra Lounge in August has filed a lawsuit against the night club’s owner alleging failure to provide adequate security and operating the business in an unsafe manner.
Frank Henderson filed the lawsuit earlier this month in Jackson County Circuit Court against the club owner, Alphonso Hodge, who opened the club in the 4800 block of Noland Road in July 2019.
Since then, the lounge has had a history of shootings and violence. It was the scene of a Jan. 19 mass shooting that left two people dead and 15 injured when a man started firing into a line of people waiting to get inside.
Henderson said he was one of four people shot Aug. 30 after an argument that started inside the nightclub and later spilled into the parking lot. Police said multiple shooters fired dozens of rounds, wounding several people.
One shooting victim, a man in his 40s, was found in the parking lot. Three other victims — two men and one woman, ranging in age from their 20s to 40s — arrived at three separate hospitals, police said.
In his lawsuit, Henderson said Hodge knew about the pattern of violent crime, thefts and assaults at the night club and yet failed to “provide adequate security, surveillance, police presence or precaution.”
Hodge advertised and promoted events at the club such as “Sold Out Sundays,” after Kansas City Chiefs’ games. One week prior to the Jan. 19 shooting, there was a drive-by shooting at the lounge. That shooting should have provided additional notice to Hodge about the ongoing pattern of crime at 9ine Lounge, its adjacent parking lot and the surrounding area, the lawsuit says.
The pattern of violence continued at the lounge when it reopened being closed for several months. In August, city officials alerted Hodge that it was seeking to revoke the club’s liquor license.
“At the time of the March reopening, Defendants knew or should have known of the issues regarding violent crime at and in the vicinity of the club,” the lawsuit says.
Hodge could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Henderson has requested a jury trial and is seeking monetary damages for hospital and medical expenses, emotional distress and loss of future income.
