A Daytona Beach nightclub has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the mother of a 19-year-old who died in a crash after, the lawsuit alleged, the club served him alcohol even though he showed security an identification card that proved he was underage, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported on November 5, 2026. The settlement was reached on October 27, 2026, and the club — Razzle’s Nightclub on Seabreeze Boulevard — is now closing. This is other parties’ case, not a Tacher Law case, and a settlement is not a court finding that the allegations were proven.

According to the News-Journal, Kelly Ratisher of Ocala filed the lawsuit in September 2025 against Jedak Associates LLC, the company behind Razzle’s. Florida business records list Kyriakos Drymonis and Panagiotis Drymonis as the company’s managing members. The owners’ attorney, David A. Vukelja, did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.

The lawsuit, as summarized from court records, claims that on the evening of June 7, 2024, Jared Ratisher, 19, showed Razzle’s security his underage ID — it showed he would not reach the legal drinking age until March 9, 2026 — and was given a 21-plus stamp on his left hand, which allowed him to buy several drinks. The paper reported that he did not have a fake ID. He rode home with friends, then left a few hours later, early on June 8, 2024, and tried to drive home to Marion County before he crashed into a tree and was pronounced dead at the scene. Court records put his blood alcohol content at 0.068 — above Florida’s 0.02 limit for drivers under 21, though below the 0.08 limit for adults.

The settlement terms are confidential and are not part of the public record. Ratisher confirmed to the newspaper that she received a monetary sum; court records cited by the paper show she had sought damages pleaded in the $50,001-to-$75,000 range. She said the owners’ attorneys told her lawyer, Olivia Miller of Chad Barr Law, on the day of the settlement that the club would be closing, and she believes the lawsuit contributed to that decision — that is her view, not a finding. The News-Journal’s separate closure report described more than 100 calls or complaints alleging the club served underage teenagers. A friend of the owners said the club will wind down gradually and honor outstanding commitments.

Source: The Daytona Beach News-Journal, November 5, 2026.

What this settlement shows about Florida dram-shop and wrongful-death claims

Florida generally places responsibility for drinking on the drinker, not the business that served the alcohol. Section 768.125, Florida Statutes, is the narrow exception: a person who sells or furnishes alcohol to someone not of lawful drinking age, or who knowingly serves someone habitually addicted to alcohol, may be liable for injury or damage caused by that person’s intoxication. Cases under this statute turn on proof — what the ID showed, who stamped or served the patron, receipts, surveillance video, and texts — so preserving that evidence early matters.

A wrongful-death claim in Florida is brought through the personal representative for the estate and the statutory survivors, and generally must be filed within two years of the death. At trial, fault can be shared: Florida follows modified comparative negligence, so recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the person harmed and barred entirely if that person is more than 50% at fault. Medical malpractice is the exception and still follows pure comparative negligence under Chapter 766. That all-or-nothing risk at the 50% line is one reason cases like this often settle confidentially instead of going to a jury.

Disclaimer: This report concerns other parties’ cases. It is news reporting and general information, not legal advice. The claims described were allegations in a filed lawsuit; the case settled without any court finding, and past results in other cases do not guarantee similar outcomes.

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Did your family lose someone after a business served a minor or an intoxicated guest? Contact Tacher Law for a free consultation or call +1 (305) 644-2211.