Feb. 25—The father of a late local musician claims in a wrongful death lawsuit that the owner of a Brunswick car dealership saw the punch that led to his son's death, did not take action to seek medical attention and knowingly served underage people alcohol at the party where his son was killed.

Henry "Tommy" Payne, father of Travis Payne, filed the case in December in Glynn County Superior Court that accuses Travis Ostrom, owner of I-95 Toyota, and the businesses he owns of being negligent in their responsibility to provide safe and secure premises for his guests.

The lawsuit further alleges that Ostrom knew of a history of violence when the teenager who fought with his son consumed alcohol.

The male teen is facing involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly throwing the punch that led to Payne's death. Payne was 41.

Ostrom denied the allegations in the lawsuit in four different answers filed in late January, one on his own behalf and three on behalf of his businesses, saying that Payne was not an invited guest at the party and that the teenager, Edward Aaron Hunter III, who was 17 at the time, may have been acting in self-defense when he allegedly punched Payne.

Payne attended a party at I-95 Toyota on April 16, 2022, that was organized by Ostrom, the lawsuit claims. Police reports after the incident said Hunter and Payne were arguing shortly after midnight at the party and that Hunter punched Payne, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head, which ultimately caused his death.

The lawsuit claims Ostrom witnessed the punch but did not take immediate action as Payne bled while unconscious on the ground.

"Despite seeing Travis Payne laid out on the floor, bleeding, unresponsive, neither Defendant Ostrom nor Defendants TKM, TKO, and Millennium, through their agents or employees, called 911," the lawsuit claims.

TKM Motor Sales, which does business as I-95 Toyota, TKO Group and Millenium LLC are Ostrom's businesses.

It further alleges that bartenders at the party were encouraged to serve everyone and to not worry about checking IDs to ensure no underage drinking was taking place. The bartenders even wore I-95 Toyota-branded shirts during the party, the lawsuit said.

"Defendant Ostrom instructed the bartenders at the I-95 event that there was an open bar and that everyone at the event would be over 21 years of age, so there was no need to ID anyone," the lawsuit said.

It accuses Ostrom of taking things a step further and claims he was taking shots with a bartender who was 20 years old at the time. That atmosphere led to underage drinking by Hunter, which then led to him becoming violent, the lawsuit alleges.

It further claims that Ostrom knew Hunter became violent when drunk and that he and his businesses did not take proper steps to ensure the safety of guests.

Ostrom and his businesses said in responses to the lawsuit that they were not responsible for Payne's actions at the party.

Ostrom admitted in his personal response to seeing the punch that led to Payne's death but said that Hunter may have been defending himself.

"For further response, upon present information and belief, and pending further investigation and discovery, defendant shows that Edward Hunter III may have been acting in self-defense," the response from Ostrom said.

He denies knowledge of anyone underage, including Hunter, being served alcohol.

While there were cameras at the dealership at the time of the incident, Ostrom's response said they were not operating that night because they were being replaced and upgraded.

Ostrom also claims to have instructed someone to call 911 after Payne was unconscious on the ground following the punch and that Payne was "knocked out" from the moment he hit the ground and was not making sounds, as the lawsuit alleges.

"Shortly after the altercation, defendant directed someone to call 911," Ostrom's response said.

Ostrom has further moved to dismiss the case, saying that Henry Payne lacks legal standing to seek punitive damages and that he and his businesses were not responsible for or negligent in Payne's death.

Attorney Nathan Williams of Williams Litigation Group is representing the Payne Family in the case.

Attorney Bradley Watkins of Brown, Readdick, Bumgartner, Carter, Strickland and Watkins is representing Ostrom and his businesses.