The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Shooting victim’s family sues RaceTrac
Teen was killed at location that was closed this week.
Just days after RaceTrac’s corporate office announced the closure of a crimeplagued store near Georgia State University, attorneys for the family of a woman fatally shot there in October announced a lawsuit against the company.
De’Asia Hart, 19, suffered a fatal gunshot wound at the intersection of John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Courtland Street in the early-morning hours of Oct. 29, authorities said. Hart was one of four people shot, and she died a few days later in the hospital. She is survived by a 1-year-old daughter. None of the other victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
In the wake of another fatal shooting near the gas station Sunday, attorney L. Chris Stewart called a news conference Thursday morning to announce a lawsuit against the RaceTrac corporation, the owners of the building and the managers of The Mix student-housing complex. He did not say what amount the family would seek in damages.
Sunday, 21-year-old Javare Shakir-Fulford was shot and killed in the area of the RaceTrac. No one associated with GSU was suspected to be involved, but the incident prompted university President M. Brian Blake to meet with RaceTrac representatives and public safety officials, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Shortly after that meeting, RaceTrac CEO Natalie Morhous released a statement about shutting down the location at 120 Piedmont Avenue.
“I am deeply saddened by the recent senseless acts of violence at and near this store,” Morhous said. “As an Atlanta-based business, we did not reach this decision lightly. We know how important our stores are to the community: They are open to guests 24/7/365, they create local jobs, they generate taxes and play a critical role in the states in which they operate. However, RaceTrac can only be successful when our stores are safe for our team members and our guests.”
Stewart said Morhous’ statement showed that the company was aware of the issues plaguing that location
and did not do enough to prevent crime or violence there.
“It’s too late to run away from what happened at that property,” Stewart said.
To win this type of case, a plaintiff generally has to show that those responsible for the property had a reasonable expectation that a violent crime could occur on-site and that they failed to take reasonable security measures to keep visitors safe. Plaintiffs tend to rely on previous violent crimes on or near the property to show that property owners and managers were on notice of such incidents occurring on-site in the future.
According to Stewart, who said the location was known as “Club RaceTrac,” the address has a well-known history as an impromptu gathering place.
“What happened the
night De’Asia was killed is what happens all the time over there: It was a large and unruly party,” Stewart said. “There were no security guards, there were no police officers, and they were just thrown out of the building into the street.”
A similar case last year resulted in millions of dollars awarded to plaintiffs.
In June 2023, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a $45 million verdict against an Atlanta CVS pharmacy where a man was shot in the parking lot during an armed robbery in 2012. Though the pharmacy on Moreland Avenue had been plagued by crime, CVS ignored its employees’ requests for additional security, case records show.
The state Supreme Court also allowed a case to proceed to trial against the owner of Pappadeaux Seafood
Kitchen on Windy Hill Road in Marietta, where a married couple were robbed at gunpoint and shot as they walked to their car following a birthday celebration dinner in 2016. The woman survived, but her husband’s injuries were fatal. The restaurant’s security provider also was sued.
“The reason this keeps happening again and again and again is money,” Stewart said Thursday. “Companies are putting profit over protecting their patrons . ... It’s very easy to hire private security, but you don’t have an incentive to do it until you get sued.”
Alison Tuff, Hart’s mother, said she’d had an incredibly close relationship with her daughter, who was her only child. Though Hart was not enrolled at GSU, Tuff said her daughter was a student who planned to go to law school.
“It just really, really hurt my family,” Tuff said.
Tuff said she and her daughter spoke regularly on the phone and had talked earlier in the day before Hart was shot. Her last words to her daughter that day were familiar.
“We said goodbye like we always do: I love you, be safe,” Tuff said.