Family of NYC man stabbed to death at Queens bar sues pub for negligence
A deadly Queens bar brawl spiraled out of control in part because the bartender kept serving booze to the already sloshed customer accused of later fatally stabbing a man in the head, according to a lawsuit.
Elliott Ortiz was killed in the bloody September fight after being repeatedly knifed in Kelly’s Pub in Downtown Flushing.
The 45-year-old’s family claims the pub “recklessly and negligently” kept serving booze to Jason Schuler, who was arrested and charged with murder after Ortiz was found unconscious with a stab wound to the head in the doorway of the bar.
Schuler was also stabbed six times in the back, but survived.
Workers kept giving Schuler, 40, who lived in Downtown Flushing’s Bland Houses, booze even after he was drunk, Ortiz’s family alleged in a June 27 lawsuit filed in Queens Supreme Court against pub owners WWMD Corp.
The Ortiz family also claims the bar failed to have proper security.
Ortiz, who lived four blocks from Kelly’s, did nothing to provoke the violence, according to court papers.
Ortiz, who was survived by his father, wife, dog and large family, was remembered as being a “great worker” and always willing to help others, according to an obituary.
“He was always the life of the party with his infectious laughter … needless to say it was never a dull moment when he was around,” it added.
Schuler, who has pleaded not guilty, is being held without bail and is due in court later this month.
WWMD could not be reached for comment.
