A lawsuit filed in April 2024 by Town 2.0, the company that planned to reopen the popular LGBTQ nightclub Town in a former church on North Capitol Street that accused its landlord of failing to renovate the building as required by a lease agreement was dismissed in a little-noticed development on Sept. 6, 2024.

A document filed in D.C. Superior Court, where the lawsuit was filed against Jemal’s Sanctuary LLC, the company that owns the church building, shows that a “Stipulation of Dismissal With Prejudice” was jointly filed by the attorneys representing the two parties in the lawsuit and approved by the judge.

Jemal’s Sanctuary is a subsidiary of the Douglas Development Corporation, one of the city’s largest real estate development firms. 

An attorney familiar with civil litigation who spoke to the Washington Blade on condition of not being identified said a stipulation of dismissal indicates the two parties reached a settlement to terminate the lawsuit on conditions that are always confidential and not included in court records.

The attorney who spoke with the Blade said the term “with prejudice” means the lawsuit cannot be re-filed again by either of the two parties.

The public court records for this case do not include any information about a settlement or the terms of such a settlement. However, the one-sentence Stipulation Of Dismissal With Prejudice addresses the issue of payment of legal fees.

“Pursuant to Rule 41(a) of the District of Columbia Superior Court Civil Rules, Plaintiff Town 2.0 LLC and Defendant Jemal’s Sanctuary LLC, by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate that the lawsuit be dismissed in its entirety, with prejudice, as to any and all claims and counterclaims asserted therein, with each party to bear its own fees and costs, including attorneys’ fees.”

The Town 2.0 lawsuit called for the termination of the lease and at least $450,000 in damages on grounds that Jemal’s Sanctuary violated the terms of the lease by failing to complete renovation work on the building that was required to be completed by a Sept. 1, 2020 “delivery date.”

In response to the lawsuit, attorneys for Jemal’s Sanctuary filed court papers denying the company violated the terms of the lease and later filed a countersuit charging Town 2.0 with violating its requirements under the lease, which the countersuit claimed included doing its own required part of the renovation work in the building, which is more than 100 years old.

Court records show Judge Maurice A. Ross, who presided over the case, dismissed the countersuit at the request of Town 2.0 on Aug. 20, 2024, on grounds that it was filed past the deadline of a three-year statute of limitations for filing such a claim.

Neither the owners of Town 2.0, their attorney, nor the attorney representing Jemal’s Sanctuary responded to a request by the Washington Blade for comment on the mutual dismissal of the lawsuit.

Town 2.0 co-owner John Guggenmos, who also owns with his two business partners the D.C. gay bars Trade and Number Nine, did not respond to a question asking if he and his partners plan to open Town 2.0 at another location.

What was initially known as Town Danceboutique operated from 2007 to 2018 in a large, converted warehouse building on 8th Street, N.W., just off Florida Avenue. It was forced to close when the building’s owner sold it to a developer who built a residential building in its place.

It was the last of the city’s large LGBTQ dance hall nightclubs that once drew large crowds, included live entertainment, and often hosted fundraising events for LGBTQ community organizations and causes.  

The Capital Pride Alliance announced last week that Doechii will perform at the closing concert for WorldPride weekend.

Doechii, born Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, is a 26-year-old rapper and singer from Tampa, Fla. Since her emergence on the music scene in 2023, she has had five songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Beginning with “What It Is (Block Boy),” she has quickly risen into the upper ranks of the rap and music industries.

The Capital Pride Alliance, the nonprofit that organizes Washington’s official Pride events and is overseeing the upcoming WorldPride celebration in June, announced on Instagram that the “Alligator Bites Never Heal” performer will headline WorldPride’s free Street Festival & Closing Concert on Sunday, June 8.

This announcement comes just over a month after the self-proclaimed “Swamp Princess” won her first Grammy for Best Rap Album. Her win marks only the third time in history that a woman has won the award—following Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. She also became only the second rapper to be named Billboard’s Woman of the Year earlier this year.

Doechii is bisexual and has spoken about the challenges of being a Black queer woman in the music industry.

“I’m a Black woman from the South, so it’s different,” Doechii told Pink News in an interview last year. “There’s a lot of racism and homophobia, so it’s hard, it’s very, very hard. Even though I was aware, I didn’t feel as comfortable until I started surrounding myself with more gay friends.”

Doechii’s bold, genre-blending style and unapologetic presence have made her a favorite among LGBTQ fans, who have embraced her music as anthems of self-expression and resilience.

Despite being fairly new to the mainstream music game, Doechii is no stranger to Washington. In June 2024, Doechii performed a special set at D.C.’s gay bar Trade as part of her SWAMP BALL TOUR. That night, a line of fans stretched down 14th Street and around the corner, eager to see the rising star in an intimate setting.

For more information about WorldPride concerts, events, and celebrations, visit worldpridedc.org.

A D.C. man pleaded guilty on March 14 in federal court to conspiracy related charges that he distributed large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in the D.C. metropolitan area, including the sale of fentanyl that resulted in the December 2023 deaths of two D.C. gay men.

A statement released by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia says Jevaughn “Ledo” Mark, 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

He is scheduled to be sentenced June 13 by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.

The March 14 statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Mark was initially charged in an indictment with eight counts of unlawful distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, and distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl between January and March of 2024.

“On June 13, 2024, Jevaughn Mark was charged in a second superseding indictment in connection with distributing fentanyl and cocaine on December 26, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of two men, Brandon Roman and Robert Barletta, at their home in Northwest Washington,” the statement says.

“Pursuant to the plea agreement, Mark admitted to causing the death of both individuals by selling ‘ketamine’ (which was actually fentanyl) to one victim who shared the drugs with the other victim,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement says. “Both men were found unresponsive the day after Mark sold them the ‘ketamine,’” according to the statement.

Roman, 38, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate, and Barletta, 28, a historic preservation expert and home renovation business owner, were found unconscious when police and emergency medical personnel responded to a 911 call and arrived at Barletta’s home on Dec. 27, 2023, according to police and fire department reports.  

The reports show Roman was declared deceased at the scene and Barletta was taken to the Washington Hospital Center, where he died on Dec. 29, 2023.

Both men were patrons at D.C. gay bars and their passing prompted many in the LGBTQ community to call for stepped up prevention services related to drug overdose cases.

At the time Mark was indicted on drug distribution charges in June 2024, prosecutors said undercover D.C. police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as drug buyers approached Mark during their investigation to purchase Ketamine, which is known on the street as Special K, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in an earlier statement.

“In each instance, the DEA/MPD agents requested to buy ‘Special K’ or Ketamine from Jevaughn Mark,” the earlier statement says. “In every instance, Jevaughn Mark supplied a mixture of fentanyl and other substances, including heroin, but not ketamine,” it says.

That report of Mark’s distribution of fentanyl rather than the requested drug of ketamine prompted an official with the D.C.-based group HIPS, which provides services to drug users and sex workers, to call the deaths of Roman and Barletta a “poisoning” rather than an “overdose.”

Court records show Mark has been held without bond since the time of his indictment and arrest in June 2024.