DRAM SHOP AWARD:

By: emailwire March 22, 2010 at 2:27 pm

(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 22, 2010 ) Alachua County, FL – Attorney Jason Miller of Morgan and Morgan recovered a $700,000+ settlement for the surviving family members of a male who was killed in a tragic auto accident involving dram shop liability. The decedent’s minor brother was unlawfully sold alcohol by two businesses prior to when the fatal accident took place. Following the unlawful alcohol sales, the minor drove the vehicle head-on into a roadside tree. His brother, who was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle at the time of the accident, was killed.

Morgan and Morgan wrongful death attorney Jason Miller sought financial compensation from the businesses who illegally sold alcohol to the minor driver of the car. Dram shop liability laws hold alcohol servers responsible for harm that intoxicated or underage patrons cause to other people. Therefore, if it can be established that a business knowingly sold alcohol to someone who shouldn’t be drinking, the business can be held liable for damages resulting from the sale. After a heavily disputed liability lawsuit against the two businesses involved in this matter, the case was resolved just prior to the scheduled jury trial. The wrongful death victim’s surviving relatives were awarded $700,000+.

Michael Zenner - CEO      
Eye Spy Spotter Services Inc.
eyespyspotter.com
bartheft.com  (blog)
Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC
PI Lic. 1597616
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
liquorassessment.com
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-7056
Toll Free: 800-880-0811

© Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC. 2010

DRAM SHOP AWARD:

by Jeff Under

Princeton Insurance refused to pay policy limits of $1 Million in a suit against a bar.  The suit was based on the acts of the manager of the bar who served himself alcohol, drove drunk, hit the victim who was working directing traffic, and fled the scene.  The acts of the tavern manager made the victim, Joseph Tuski, a quadriplegic.  Mr. Tuski had $1.6 million in past medical expenses, $2 million in lost earnings and the jury found he needed $18 million for future medical expenses.

The jury in the underlying case awarded a $75 million verdict.  The judge in the case reduced the jury’s verdict to $37.5 million.  The owners of the bar assigned the claim against their insurance company, for failing to pay Mr. Tuski’s claim timely, to the plaintiff, Mr. Tuski. 

In a story about the case, Plaintiff’s counsel said Princeton had actual knowledge of the serious injuries the plaintiff suffered from and knew there were no defenses to hide behind.  Princeton ignored the facts and law and refused to make an offer.  The insurance company could have avoided the verdict and the subsequent settlement had they done the right thing and paid the claim timely.  This is not an incident isolated to this insurance company, this is a nationwide trend, affecting consumers everywhere, especially here on the Gulf Coast, where consurmers have been at war with insurance companies over denial of claims since Katrina hit.

Michael Zenner - CEO      
Eye Spy Spotter Services Inc.
eyespyspotter.com
bartheft.com  (blog)
Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC
PI Lic. 1597616
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
liquorassessment.com
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-7056
Toll Free: 800-880-0811

© Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC. 2010

DRAM SHOP AWARD:

Settlement reached in fatal car crash lawsuit: Plaintiffs alleged

Missouri Lawyers Media by Angela Riley

Dram shop experts helped the families of four people an off-duty Sunset Hills police officer killed in a car crash reach a settlement with the officer and the restaurant/bar that provided the officer alcohol while she allegedly was intoxicated.

The settlement against Christine Miller and O'Leary's Restaurant and Bar totaled $2.3 million.

Miller agreed to pay the families a $300,000 settlement - or $45,000 each and $75,000 in attorneys' fees.

Miller's attorney Daniel Wilke, of Wilke & Wilke, and O'Leary's attorney Victor T. Avellino, of Boggs, Avellino, Lach & Boggs, declined to comment.

O'Leary's paid the families $2 million from an insurance policy. The families each received a $100,000 cash payment and $186,375 structured settlement from the restaurant. Attorney Stephen Schultz will receive 33 percent of the award as part of a contingency fee.

The lawsuit accuses O'Leary's of serving Officer Christine Miller alcohol while she was visibly intoxicated. O'Leary's is on South Lindbergh Boulevard less than a quarter-mile from the police station.

By allegedly serving Miller while intoxicated, O'Leary's violated the state's "dram shop law," the plaintiffs said. The law holds bars liable if they sell liquor to minors or someone who is already drunk.

The lawsuit's dram shop count against O'Leary's alleges the restaurant was reckless in its supervision of Miller and knew she was intoxicated but did not call a cab or make sure she did not operate her car.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Miller, her blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.169 nearly three hours after the crash and 0.154 four hours later. The legal limit is 0.08.

Schultz noted a high burden of proof exits in dram shop cases, but his experts were able to say that given her BAC levels at the time of the accident, Miller would have met the statutory definition of being a "visibly intoxicated" person at the bar earlier that evening.

"These toxicologists say that the BAC level of 0.16 is triple to four times the legal limit, when it looks like to us that it's just twice the legal limit," Schultz said. "As you drink, the faster you get drunk, and it's impossible, even for a skilled drinker, to conceal that they're drunk at such high levels."

Schultz said police obtained Miller's credit card receipts from O'Leary's indicating she bought a lot of drinks. Officers also interviewed employees at other nearby bars and found she didn't drink there.

Since there was a BAC reading after the accident and the plaintiffs knew what alcoholic beverages Miller consumed, their experts were able to calculate what Miller's BAC would have been at the time she was at O'Leary's, Schultz said.

The accident took place at about 1:45 a.m. March 21. Miller was driving east on the wrong side of Dougherty Ferry Road toward Des Peres Road. The car holding the victims turned onto Dougherty Ferry and was hit nearly head-on by Miller. Miller's Mitsubishi Eclipse and the plaintiffs' Honda Accord were "completely pulverized," Schultz said.

Priya Muppavarapu, 22, Anusha Anumolu, 22, Satya Chinta, 25, and Anitha Veerapaneni, 23, died in the wreck. The driver of the car, Nitesh Adusumilli, 27, and Miller were seriously injured.

Adusumilli also filed the suit against Miller. Adusumilli suffered from a head injury, a fractured rib, liver trauma and lung contusions, according to his lawsuit. He received $45,000 from Miller. He also received a $100,000 cash payment and an $86,000 structured settlement from O'Leary's, Schultz said.

Adusumilli was engaged to Veerapaneni. They would have been married on May 14, 2009. All were close friends and were returning home after bowling when the accident happened, Schultz said. Three of the passengers were students at Eastern Illinois University and were pursuing master's degrees in information technology.

In June, Miller was charged with four counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and one count of second-degree assault. Once the charges were filed, Miller was suspended from the Sunset Hills Police Department without pay, according to a release from Police Chief William LaGrand.

$2.3 million settlement

Wrongful death/ dram shop liability

Michael Zenner - CEO      
Eye Spy Spotter Services Inc.
eyespyspotter.com
bartheft.com  (blog)
Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC
PI Lic. 1597616
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
liquorassessment.com
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-7056
Toll Free: 800-880-0811

© Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC. 2010

DRAM SHOP AWARD:

The Legal Intelligencer - By Zack Needles

A woman who was rendered quadriplegic when the car she was a passenger in struck a tree in Chester County has reached a $4.3 million settlement with the bar and restaurant that allegedly served the driver after he was visibly intoxicated.

Plaintiff Joanne DiPietro reached an agreement with defendants Dilworthtown Inn and Blue Pear Bistro, two West Chester, Pa., restaurants, on April 9, following jury selection in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.

In DiPietro v. Dilworthtown Inn, Joanne DiPietro had gone to the Dilworthtown Inn and the Blue Pear Bistro with her estranged husband, Joel DiPietro, a pro se defendant in the case, to discuss repairing their marriage over dinner and drinks on Nov. 9, 2007, according to the plaintiff's settlement memorandum.

The couple first went to the Dilworthtown Inn, where a copy of the receipt from that night showed Joel DiPietro consumed two martinis and one beer, according to the plaintiff.

The DiPietros then walked to the neighboring Blue Pear Bistro where Joel DiPietro, according to his testimony, consumed multiple martinis and beers, the plaintiff said.

When the couple left the Blue Pear Bistro at around 10 p.m. that night, Joel DiPietro drove since his wife had also consumed alcohol, the plaintiff said.

Their car struck a tree just a few miles from the bar, according to the plaintiff.

Joanne DiPietro, who was flown to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for surgery, was rendered quadriplegic, the plaintiff said.

According to the plaintiff, Joanne DiPietro is now dependent on others for daily living and mobility and will need lifelong medical care.

Alex Karras, the plaintiff's expert life care plan specialist, calculated the cost of Joanne DiPietro's life care plan at more than $8 million.

She was also separated from her children and will never be able to work again, the plaintiff said.

The plaintiff said a state trooper and an EMT both testified that Joel DiPietro had glassy eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol at the accident scene and Joel DiPietro corroborated this testimony at his own deposition.

Joanne DiPietro testified that her husband had stumbled in the upstairs lounge at the Blue Pear Bistro, according to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff's expert toxicologist, G. John DiGregorio, said Joel DiPietro's blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was .186.

James Barnes, part owner of both the Dilworthtown Inn and the Blue Pear Bistro, testified that he was present at the Blue Pear Bistro the night of the accident and that part of his job description was to keep an eye out for drunk patrons leaving the bar, the plaintiff said.

But Steve DeLucia, a former Blue Pear Bistro employee, said Barnes would consume about nine alcoholic drinks a night while working and Christine Olmstead, a former Dilworthtown Inn employee, said Barnes was an alcoholic who was often drunk at work, according to the plaintiff.

Olmstead testified that on two separate occasions while working at the Dilworthtown Inn she wanted to stop serving alcohol to patrons whom she thought were too drunk, but manager Ron Bannister told her to keep serving them whatever they ordered, the plaintiff said.

But the Blue Pear Bistro said in its memorandum that the plaintiff "never produced a single non-interested witness" who could testify as to Joel DiPietro's "physical appearance while present at the Blue Pear Bistro."

Both the Blue Pear Bistro and the Dilworthtown Inn, in their separate memorandums, said Joel DiPietro had a long history of alcohol abuse that would have made his alcohol tolerance higher than someone who was not used to drinking in large quantities.

"Plaintiff's allegation that defendant, Joel DiPietro, especially in light of his extensive history of alcohol consumption, was showing signs of visible intoxication after drinking two vodka martinis, while consuming a full meal of steak and lobster, is not only unsupported but illogical," the Dilworthtown Inn said.

Both the Dilworthtown Inn and the Blue Pear Bistro said in their memorandums that Joanne DiPietro had assumed the risk by getting in the car with Joel DiPietro, against whom she had a protection from abuse order still in effect at the time.

Both restaurant defendants alleged in their memorandums that Joanne DiPietro had chosen to consume alcohol while on prescription medication and that she had not urged Joel DiPietro to stop drinking at any point during the evening.

They also said in their memorandums that Joanne DiPietro had been aware that Joel DiPietro did not have a driver's license at the time of the accident but still chose to get into a car with him without wearing a seat belt.

"The thing we were most concerned about was personal responsibility," said Joanne DiPietro's attorney, Kevin R. Marciano of Cherry Fieger & Marciano in Media, Pa., referring to the potential for a jury to find his client responsible for choosing to get into the car with her husband.

In the end, Joanne DiPietro agreed to settle with the Dilworthtown Inn and the Blue Pear Bistro for their individual insurance policy limits of $1 million each, plus an additional $2.3 million under the restaurants' joint umbrella policy.

The plaintiff also collected $13,500 out-of-pocket from Joel DiPietro, who was an excluded driver on Joanne DiPietro's insurance policy, according to Marciano, who was co-counsel in the case with partner David R. Cherry.

Marciano said he and his client were "happy with $4.3 million."

Marciano said Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson was "instrumental" in getting the case settled.

The Blue Pear Bistro's attorneys, Guy Mercogliano of Sweeney & Sheehan in Philadelphia and John J. Snyder of Rawle & Henderson in Philadelphia, did not immediately return calls for comment.

The Dilworthtown Inn's attorney in this case, Walter H. Swayze III of Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney in Philadelphia, as well as both the Dilworthtown Inn's and the Blue Pear Bistro's personal counsel, Patrick S. Mintzer of Buckley Brion McGuire Morris & Sommer in West Chester, e-mailed a joint statement on behalf of both restaurants.

"The owners of the Dilworthtown Inn and the Blue Pear Bistro vigorously denied liability since first learning of the unfortunate accident and continued to do so through the final resolution of this matter by its insurers," the statement said. "The owners look forward to continuing the fine traditions of the Inn and the Bistro, and extend their best wishes to Mrs. DiPietro and her family."

Michael Zenner - CEO      
Eye Spy Spotter Services Inc.
eyespyspotter.com
bartheft.com  (blog)
Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC
PI Lic. 1597616
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
liquorassessment.com
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-7056
Toll Free: 800-880-0811

© Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC. 2010

DRAM SHOP AWARD:

On June 1, 2010, a settlement was reached in the sum of $900,000 on the day before trial in the United States Court in the Northern District of New York, arising from the death of a 47-year old in a motor vehicle accident in the Town of Queensbury, County of Queensbury, New York on February 26, 2005. The decedent was survived by her 61-year old husband and 7-year old daughter.  The settling defendants included the Estate of Jason Goodspeed and the Adirondack Bar & Grill, which was owned and operated by James Valastro.

Just after midnight on February 26, 2005, the car driven by the alleged drunk driver, Jason Goodspeed, crossed double yellow solid lines on a state highway directly into the path of the vehicle driven by the plaintiff about 1.8 miles from the Adirondack Bar & Grill.  Both vehicles were demolished in the head-on collision.  The plaintiff had no chance to take evasive measures to avoid the collision, and he and his wife were extricated from their car by the Town of Queensbury Fire Department.  The 61-year old plaintiff sustained substantial orthopedic injuries in the crash necessitating multiple operations at the Albany Medical Center and Boston General Hospital, and his wife died four hours after the collision as a result of internal bleeding.

The alleged drunk driver, Jason Goodspeed, had a blood alcohol level of .20%, more than twice the legal limit for driving while intoxicated.  The plaintiff's forensic toxicologist estimated that Goodspeed consumed 11 to 15 beers prior to leaving the Adirondack Bar & Grill at midnight, just minutes before the crash occurred, and he further opined that Goodspeed would have had the appearance of gross intoxication when he was last served beer at the Adirondack Bar & Grill based on his blood alcohol level.  Eyewitnesses at the bar confirmed that Goodspeed drank beer at the Adirondack Bar & Grill for 4 hours just prior to the motor vehicle accident.

The dram shop coverage for the Adirondack Bar & Grill was limited to $1 million.

Michael Zenner - CEO      
Eye Spy Spotter Services Inc.
eyespyspotter.com
bartheft.com  (blog)
Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC
PI Lic. 1597616
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
liquorassessment.com
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-7056
Toll Free: 800-880-0811

© Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC. 2010