OCEAN CITY — A $1 million lawsuit filed against the Ocean City Mayor and Council by the family of a woman who was found deceased and buried on the beach four years ago was dismissed with prejudice this week.
The suit was filed in 2019 by the decedent’s mother, Gayla Lutyk, through her attorneys and named the Mayor and Council as the defendant. It sought $1 million in compensatory damages in the alleged negligence case in the death of Ashley O’Connor, who was found buried on the beach at 2nd Street in July 2017.
On Monday, the case was dismissed with prejudice in U.S. District Court. In legal terms, when a case is dismissed with prejudice, the court is essentially saying it has made a final determination on the merits of the case, and the plaintiffs are therefore forbidden from filing another lawsuit on the same grounds. If a case is dismissed without prejudice, the door is left open for further action.
“All parties, by and through their respective counsel, hereby stipulate that any and all claims in the above-captioned matter be, and the same hereby, are dismissed with prejudice,” the brief one-page joint stipulation notice filed on Monday reads.
On July 31, 2017, the Ocean City Public Works Department’s beach cleaning crews were completing their overnight duties between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. when they discovered a deceased woman on the beach at 2nd Street later identified as Ashley O’Connor, 30, of Plano, Texas. According to a reliable source at the time, the victim was buried in the sand with just a forearm and hand exposed.
An unfortunate accident