Ex-husband of Wynonna Judd claims valet working at Marriott slugged him
Fourth and Church has been a busy corner for a long time. But one day last December, things apparently got a little more than busy outside Marriott\'s Courtyard Nashville Downtown, located at that intersection.
Nashville Banner Managing Editor Marmaduke B. Morton, recalling city life of the 1880s in a 1930 column, wrote of the intersection where the Maxwell House hotel once stood, diagonally across from what is now the Marriott:
"If you could not find a man in his office or at his residence, all you had to do was to stand on this corner for half an hour or so, when he would be passing by."
Arch Kelley was passing by that corner on Dec. 11, 2009, headed into the downtown branch of FirstBank, in the former Noel Hotel across Church from the Marriott, when an affray ensued. What really happened in the altercation is in stark dispute.
Kelley, who was formerly married to country star Wynonna Judd, filed suit Friday against Music City Parking and as yet-unidentified members of its staff in Davidson County Circuit Court. The complaint is available at this link.
The complaint says Kelley had pulled into a parking space used by Music City Parking\'s valets on the Church Street side of the Marriott. FirstBank has an arrangement with the parking company to provide bank customers with free valet service.
According to the lawsuit, Kelley believed he was allowed to park in a valet spot, but after doing so he encountered two Music City Parking employees who "began making rude and threatening comments to him." He says he ignored them, went about his business at the bank and returned to his car within minutes.
The two valets "continued to make threatening statements" as Kelley got into his car, he claims, and then they jumped in front of it.
Without warning, he asserts, a third Music City Parking staffer ran up from behind and "punched him in the head with the entire force of his body," knocking Kelley to the ground and causing "multiple abrasions, contusions, soft tissue damage and orthopedic injuries" for which he is still being treated.
Kelley, represented by Nashville attorney Russell F. Thomas, accuses the company and its valets of assault, battery and negligence. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
That\'s his side of the story.
Jack McKenzie, operator of Music City Parking, gave his version on Tuesday in a telephone interview.
"The complainant did park illegally at the hotel," McKenzie said. "When he was confronted about what the protocol is, he made a disparaging remark."
According to McKenzie, a manager waited for Kelley to come out of the bank and told him he could not park in the spot without getting a ticket stub from the valets and having it validated by a FirstBank representative.
"He did not like that," McKenzie claimed. "He got into his vehicle and drove from the right-hand side of Church Street across the yellow lines towards the two valets that were standing there. They jumped up on the curb to get away.
"One of the other valets witnessed the complainant getting into his vehicle and using it as a weapon. When he jumped out of his vehicle and made an aggressive posture, that\'s when the valet came over and pushed him out of the way.
"There was no physical problem with the complainant when he came in and spoke with me about the incident," McKenzie said. "His story certainly has changed."
|
