Woman sues downtown Dallas club VIVO for sexual assault

An 18-year-old woman is suing a downtown Dallas nightclub after She said she was sexually assaulted at the club in December.

The Denton resident claims that Club VIVO, a popular Latino club, created the conditions that led to her violent assault and that security staff failed to help her after her friend alerted a staff member to the ongoing assault, according to legal documents filed last week.

“They’re basically creating an environment that’s perfect for sex offenders,” said Charla Aldous, the plaintiff’s attorney. “They’re letting these young girls in, dousing them with alcohol and then standing by and doing nothing when older men attack them.”

Representatives of Club VIVO did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Dallas Morning News.

The plaintiff’s legal team argues that the nightclub’s reputation, built through social media and marketing campaigns, as well as its atmosphere, allows older men to prey on and exploit the underage girls who, drunk and defenseless, are attacked by Club VIVO staff who wrongfully serve them alcohol.

The 18-year-old, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, is a college student. She was allowed to enter the two-story nightclub with an “X” on her hand, meaning she was underage. The lawsuit alleges that bartenders served her alcohol anyway, and continued to do so even when she was intoxicated.

At around 1:30 a.m., an unknown man dragged her across the dance floor to an upstairs restroom and raped her, court records state. During the assault, Doe texted her friend, who had gone to the club with her, telling her she was being sexually harassed.

When the friend told security about it, the lawsuit alleges that security did not help him.

The woman is suing Club VIVO for negligence, liability and violating a section of the state’s liquor law. This law allows people to sue bars and other establishments that serve alcohol when over-served customers pose a danger to themselves or others and the intoxication was a proximate cause of the harm sustained.

She reported the attack to the Dallas police. According to her lawyers, the investigation is still ongoing.