After a stretch of late-night trouble and 18 calls to law enforcement and emergency crews, the Lava Lounge, an after-hours BYOB club at 1615 Montana Avenue, Suite 117, is officially out of business in El Paso County.
The club has been permanently closed following a settlement with the El Paso County Attorney's Office. A judge signed the agreement on Tuesday, barring the owners from reopening or associating with any establishment named Lava Lounge in the county and ordering them to pay $12,000 in civil penalties. According to court records cited by county lawyers, police and emergency services were dispatched to the property 18 times between July 1, 2024, and Sept. 5, 2025, for incidents that included an aggravated robbery at knifepoint, a shooting in the parking lot, and multiple arrests.
As reported by KDBC/CBS4, the settlement, signed by Judge Melissa A. Baeza, formally ends the county's lawsuit against the lounge's owners and operators and closes out the pending litigation. The defendants agreed to pay $12,000 in civil penalties and are prohibited from operating, promoting, advertising, owning, or holding any interest in an establishment called Lava Lounge anywhere in El Paso County. The station also noted that the building had already been shut down for roughly a month before the agreement was finalized.
Police Calls And Alleged Incidents
Local reporting from KVIA/ABC-7 details a steady stream of problems at the property between July 2024 and September 2025. Court documents summarized by the station say law enforcement and emergency responders were sent to the club 18 times during that period. The calls included an aggravated robbery at knifepoint, a shooting in the parking lot, two arrests for unlawful possession of weapons, and several fights or assaults involving heavily intoxicated patrons.
County investigators told the court the venue was operating as an after-hours BYOB club while allegedly selling alcohol outside permitted hours. They also alleged the club functioned as an unregistered sexually oriented business, a combination that helped put the property squarely in the county's crosshairs.
Settlement Terms And County Action
The settlement resolves a nuisance abatement lawsuit the county filed in October and, per KDBC/CBS4, blocks the named defendants from re-establishing the Lava Lounge name anywhere in El Paso County. County Attorney Christina Sanchez praised the deal, saying it "permanently terminates an operation that had become a persistent source of violence and illegal activity in our community."
The agreement effectively ends the court fight while locking in the civil penalty and the ban on operating under the Lava Lounge name that Judge Baeza signed off on.
Part Of A Broader Nuisance Push
County attorneys have turned to similar legal tools in recent years to shut down problem spots. KVIA/ABC-7 documented the permanent closure of Jaguars Gold Club in early 2024 after prosecutors argued the venue attracted repeated violence and criminal activity.
Officials say nuisance abatement cases are designed to cut off locations that repeatedly drain emergency resources and put surrounding neighborhoods at risk. Critics on both sides of those fights have questioned the cost and scope of long-running litigation, but county leaders continue to frame the approach as a public safety tool.
For now, the Lava Lounge building remains dark, and the settlement bars the defendants from reopening under that name. County officials are urging residents to report suspected nuisance properties to the County Attorney's Office Nuisance Abatement Team so investigators can build cases when patterns of illegal activity begin to surface.
