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Updates on civil lawsuits filed against Tammy "Sunny" Sytch in the State of Florida, both related to her DUI arrest.
The first, filed by the estate of Julian L. Lasseter, the man who was killed in the three car traffic incident involving a car driven by Sytch on 3/25/22 in Ormond Beach, Florida is against Sytch, her fiance, James Pente and Ultimate Motor Cars, LLC, which sold Sytch the car she was operating at the time of the incident. The Lasseter estate filed a motion for the lawsuit against Ultimate Motor Cars, LLC to be dismissed with prejudice on 9/12, which would mean they could not move forward against them legally in civil court again. That likely indicates the two sides came to a settlement of some sort, but we can't 100% confirm that. The court has not yet responded to the motion.
In January 2023, Lasseter’s daughter Whitney Hill filed the motion requesting that the Court permit Ultimate Motor Cars be added as a defendant, which the court has agreed to. At the time, it was noted that Pente did not oppose the addition of the new defendant and that Sytch “has not filed a responsive pleading.” In that motion, Lasseter's estate stated that through discovery, they now believed that Ultimate Motor Cars, LLC “may bear” some liability in Lasseter’s passing.
The Amended version of the lawsuit noted that Sytch began the process of purchasing “a white 2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class from ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS on or about February 3, 2022.” This would be just a few weeks before Sytch was arrested for DUI and driving with a suspended or revoked license on 2/24/22 in New Jersey. The suit alleges that Sytch paid Ultimate Motor Cars $8,000 in cash as a down payment with the remainder of the purchase to be financed “through a lending institution", stating:
“On or about March 14, 2022, Defendant SYTCH and Defendant PENTE applied as co-applicants to purchase the 2012 Mercedes-Benz from Defendant ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS.
Attached to the Sales Agreement for the 2012 Mercedes Benz was a Vehicle Bailment Agreement that stated: "Pending credit approval of consumer[s] by lending institution and completion of sales contraction...delivery of said vehicle by dealer is herby [sic] made to consumer[s] as a convenience to consumer[s]. . .said vehicle shall remain the property of the dealer." Please see the Bailment Agreement for Vehicle Delivery, attached hereto as Exhibit "A" (emphasis added). Both SYTCH and PENTE signed this Agreement.
On March 14, 2022, ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS permitted SYTCH to operate its vehicle while using a dealer tag. See §320.13 Florida Statutes.
ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS requested SYTCH's driver's license, and in response, SYTCH produced a government issued ID to ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS that was plainly marked "FOR IDENTIFICATION ONLY" with that ID having expired on January 22, 2022.
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.
Eleven days later, on or about March 25, 2022, Defendant SYTCH was intoxicated and operating the 2012 Mercedes Benz owned by Defendant ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS traveling southbound on N. Yonge Street, at or near the intersection of W. Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach, Volusia County, Florida.
Defendant SYTCH operated the motor vehicle with the consent, either express or implied, of Defendant ULTIMATE MOTOR CARS. “
In the Amended lawsuit, Lasseter’s family contended that the actual ownership of the car falls with Ultimate Motor Cars and are seeking to hold them responsible for Sytch having possession of the car when by the letter of the law, she should not have been able to drive, much less purchase a vehicle. Once the Judge signs off on the dismissal, there should be some clarity as to whether civil proceedings will continue against Sytch and Pente.
The Ormond Beach Police Department's report on the 3/25/22 incident stated that Sytch (who did not possess a valid driver's license) was driving southbound on U.S. 1 just north of Granada Boulevard and failed to stop at 8:28 PM EST. The report cited two different witnesses to the crash as reporting that Sytch's car was traveling at a "high rate of speed" before crashing into Lasseter’s stopped vehicle after Sytch failed to stop. Lasseter then crashed into a third vehicle. Lasseter passed away after being rushed to the hospital. The driver and passengers of the third vehicle were not hospitalized but all complained of neck, back, side and head injuries.
The Amended lawsuit alleges negligence by Sytch and Pente, vicarious liability by Ultimate Motor Cars and negligence by Ultimate Motor Cars. The amended lawsuit requested the court "enter judgment against the Defendants for compensatory damages, interest where applicable, costs, and requests a trial by jury on all issues so triable."
Pente previously responded on 5/23/22, denying any negligence on his part and demanding that Lasseter's estate bring forth "strict proof" for that claim, denying he was responsible for Tammy Sytch’s actions, that he is liable for the incident and as you might expect, denies all of the allegations brought against him. His attorneys laid out 12 potential defenses at the time. The Lasseter estate had previously argued that Pente was the owner of the car, which could not be the case if it was technically owned by Ultimate Motor Cars. The issue regarding the ownership seems to arise from the police report from the traffic incident, which listed Pente as the owner as his insurance information was in the car.
There are no current hearings set in the matter.
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A second civil lawsuit was filed against Sytch on 3/21 in regard to the traffic incident that caused the passing of Julian Lasseter. In that case, Jana Olivova, a passenger in another car that was impacted during the incident, filed a civil suit seeking in excess of $50,000. Olivova had filed a suit against Sytch, Pente and Olivova's own insurance company Geico. An amended lawsuit was filed this past July, now only listing Geico as the sole defendant as Sytch and Pente have been dropped as parties in the suit.
In the original lawsuit, Olivova alleged, "As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, TAMARA SYTCH, Plaintiff, JANA OLIVOVA, suffered bodily injury including a permanent injury to the body as a whole, pain and suffering of both a physical and mental nature, disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, aggravation of an existing condition, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of ability to earn money and loss of ability to lead and enjoy a normal life. The losses are either permanent or continuing and Plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future. Plaintiff, JANA OLIVOVA also suffered other damages, including, but not limited to, loss of the use of the subject vehicle, damage to the subj ect vehicle. Plaintiff, JANA OLIVOVA, will suffer or incur the injuries, expenses and impairment in the future."
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On the criminal side, Sytch is facing over 26 years imprisonment when she is sentenced next month after pleading no contest to the DUI-related charges that were brought against her in the wake of March 2022 incident.
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