On January 9th, Julian L. Lasseter’s daughter Whitney Hill filed a motion requesting that the Circuit Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit permit them to add a third defendant (Ultimate Motor Cars, LLC) in the civil lawsuit against Tammy “Sunny” Sytch and her fiancé, James Pente. Sytch was arrested last year for a DUI which resulted in Julian L. Lasseter being killed in a three-car traffic incident in Ormond Beach, Florida.
The motion noted that Pente did not oppose the addition and that Sytch has “not filed a responsive pleading.” The plaintiff’s legal team believes that Ultimate Motor Cars, LLC might have some liability for Lasseter’s passing. The filing included an amended version of the lawsuit that would now replace the current version if the court concurs with the motion to include Ultimate Motor Cars as the third defendant.
The motion states that Sytch began the process of purchasing a white 2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class from Ultimate Motor Cars on February 3, 2022, a few weeks before she was arrested for DUI and driving with a suspended or revoked license on February 22nd. Sytch had paid an $8,000 down payment in cash and the couple had applied as co-applicants on March 14th to buy the vehicle. Ultimate Motor Cars had allegedly allowed Sytch to drive the vehicle while using a dealer tag on that day and Sytch produced an expired government ID that was marked “For Identification Only.”
The motion goes on to state,
“The identification card SYTCH produced to ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS not only was not a valid driver’s license but was a clear indication to ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS that SYTCH did not have a valid driver’s license. Despite this, ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS permitted SYTCH to operate its vehicle with a dealer tag when it had actual knowledge that SYTCH was not permitted to drive.”
According to the motion, Ultimate Motor Cars was still the owner of the car on March 25th when Sytch was driving the car and got involved in the fatal accident that caused Lasseter’s death.
Lasseter’s family sued Sytch on April 12, 2022, with the victims seeking over $100K in damages. Sytch pleaded not guilty the same day.
