Two daughters of merengue icon Rubby Perez are among the dozens who are suing the owners of JetSet Club for compensation.
The two daughters of the late Dominican merengue icon Rubby Pérez have filed a lawsuit against the owners and partners of Jet Set, the Santo Domingo nightclub where a deadly roof collapse on 8 April 2025 claimed 236 lives, including that of the renowned singer.
The complaint, filed by Casiey Aileen Pérez Lebrón and Ana Beatriz Pérez Reynoso, was submitted amid ongoing criminal proceedings led by the Dominican Public Ministry, which has accused the club’s management of involuntary manslaughter and gross negligence.
Backed by their extended family, the Pérez sisters issued a statement through their legal team, calling the lawsuit “a tool of justice and remembrance, not revenge or attention-seeking.” They emphasized that their aim is accountability and truth—not punishment without due process.
“This is about mourning, about a loss that can never be recovered, and about the need to confront a harsh truth: we have failed as a society when entertainment is prioritized over human life and when the State fails in its fundamental duty to regulate and protect,” the statement reads.
Jet Set’s roof collapse on 8 April devastated families across the country, leaving over 180 injured and almost 200 children orphaned.
At the time of the tragedy, Rubby Pérez was performing his iconic ballad “De color de rosa.” He died at 69, bringing a decades-long career to a sudden end. Pérez had launched his solo career in 1986 after his time with the Wilfrido Vargas orchestra and became known for hits like “Volveré” and “Fui buscando tus besos.”
The sisters’ legal filing comes as the country reels from what has become one of the worst civilian disasters in recent history. Authorities have arrested nightclub owner Antonio Espaillat and requested preventive detention. His sister, Maribel Espaillat—an executive at Jet Set—faces house arrest. Their pretrial hearing was postponed and is now scheduled for Wednesday, 18 June 2025. The category of involuntary manslaughter given by the Public Ministry to the case could result in a maximum of two years jail for those accused.
According to the Public Ministry, the Espaillat siblings presided over years of “systematic and severe negligence” at the JetSet Club. Investigators say the club operated without necessary safety permits, ignored structural assessments and carried out extensive renovations without regulatory approval.
The roof collapse, experts found, was worsened by excessive weight added to the structure over time—including large air conditioning units, heavy water tanks, and other technical installations—all allegedly installed without engineering oversight.
“We don’t want this to become just another news item,” said Casiey and Ana Beatriz Pérez. “Let this tragedy serve to correct, to educate, and above all, to protect.”
Rubby Pérez will be honored in a tribute concert at the National Theater in Santo Domingo on 11 July 2025.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nacional
El Dia
7 Dias
Acento
18 June 2025