Orland LifeTime Fitness Stabbing Victim Sues, Claims Security Failures

ORLAND PARK, IL — The victim of an August 2023 domestic stabbing in the parking lot of an Orland Park fitness center is suing the business, alleging it did not take adequate security measures to protect her, despite a reported history of emergency calls to the facility.

Brittany Chadek was attacked and stabbed multiple times in the parking lot of LifeTime Fitness, 16333 S. La Grange Rd., the afternoon of Aug. 27. Peter Surdyk, Chadek’s estranged romantic partner, was arrested in the attack.

Surdyk was charged with attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in a public place.

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court by Dolan Law Offices, claims the gym failed to protect Chadek and other patrons by not equipping the facility and its parking lot with adequate security, and failing to monitor the security cameras that were in place.

The suit details surveillance footage from the day of the attack, showing that Chadek arrived at the gym just after 1 p.m. and went in to work out. Minutes later, Surdyk is seen moving his car closer to Chadek’s in the parking lot. He approached her car twice in five minutes, slashing her tires both times, the suit states. Surdyk is then seen sitting in a grassy area, waiting for Chadek to exit.

Approximately 50 minutes passed between Surdyk’s initial presence in the parking lot, Chadek’s entrance into the fitness center and her exit, the suit says.

Chadek was then attacked and stabbed several times before running to the gym entrance for help. Surdyk fled and was stopped by police near 149th and La Grange Road, where he was taken into custody.

Chadek’s lawyers disclosed that Orland Park police records show “hundreds of 911 calls” to the facility in the five years prior to the attack. Calls were made for “violent crimes such as assaults, batteries, disturbances, thefts, and removal of unwanted persons,” in addition to “loitering of suspicious persons, hit and runs, and criminal damage to property, including cars being broken into.

“Given the history of prior criminal activity at its facility and parking lot, Life Time
Fitness had a duty to take reasonable measures, based on the information known to them, to
make the premises as secure as possible for its invitees,” the lawsuit states. “Given the information it had or should have had, this would include arranging to have adequate security present to protect business invitees, particularly (Chadek).”

The suit claims the Minnesota-based fitness company failed to take adequate measures to protect patrons in the parking lot due to previously known criminal activity, failed to have security present on the lot as a deterrent, and failed to adequately monitor security cameras. It was also negligent in monitoring the cameras, did not warn patrons that the cameras were not monitored, and failed to perform adequate security checks on the premises.

The gym also failed in its “voluntary undertaking” to “provide a reasonably safe facility for its members, including the parking lot, by installing and maintaining a closed-circuit surveillance camera system throughout the exterior.”

“As a safety and security policy, cameras should be live monitored,” the suit states. “Active monitoring can deter potential security threats, and the knowledge that security personnel are watching can discourage individuals from engaging in unlawful activities.”

The lawsuit also names Surdyk, suing him for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $50,000.