DRAM SHOP AWARD:
$10.5M awarded over monster-truck death
Associated Press Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:07 PM
DALLAS — The parents of a 23-year-old woman killed by a monster truck outside a gentlemen’s club have won a $10.5 million civil verdict against the driver and the club for serving him alcohol.
Kasey McKenzie died after she was run over in March 2011 by a pickup truck elevated on monster tires in the parking lot of the Spearmint Rhino club in Dallas. The driver of the truck, Eric Crutchfield, was drunk and has since pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
McKenzie’s parents, Gary McKenzie and Karen McDonald, sued Crutchfield and High Expectations Hospitality, the corporate name for Spearmint Rhino, pointing to state “dram shop” laws that allow a business to be held liable if it serves alcohol to someone who was clearly intoxicated and ended up causing harm to others.
A Dallas civil jury on Tuesday awarded $4 million to the parents for mental anguish and $3.5 million for loss of companionship, along with about $3 million in other damages and expenses.
Michael Schmidt, an attorney for McKenzie’s parents, said the club served Crutchfield 10 or more drinks and shots on the night of McKenzie’s death.
“This case basically is addressing a problem that we have, certainly in Dallas, of irresponsible establishments over-serving patrons and violating the law,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said McKenzie was hit by Crutchfield’s truck while walking in the parking lot after 2 a.m. on March 17, 2011.
According to a police report, Crutchfield “had no idea he had run over” McKenzie. A blood test after the incident showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent, more than twice the legal limit.
Crutchfield later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a 3-year prison sentence. His probation on a drug-possession charge was also revoked and he was sent to prison for that conviction as well. He’s projected to be released in 2015, according to state prison records.
An attorney for Crutchfield, Mathew Samuel, said his client had previously settled with McKenzie’s parents and did not comment further on the verdict. An attorney for Spearmint Rhino did not return a message seeking comment.
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DRAM SHOP AWARD:

Judge puts $1M settlement from Dram Shop suit into court registry

November 27, 2012 3:44 PM

By David Yates

A Beaumont judge has placed $1 million in settlement proceeds from a Dram Shop suit into the court registry while the parties sort out who gets what.

In February, the Southeast Texas Record reported that several area residents filed a petition to take depositions, believing a local business illegally sold alcohol to minors who later died in an automobile collision.

Court records show that the petition was re-filed as a lawsuit on March 16, with Jack Smith and Dawn Fluts as plaintiffs and Triangle Marketing and its representative Hussain Ali Habib as defendants.

On Oct. 3 Judge Gary Sanderson, 6oth District Court, ordered that the suit settlement proceeds, $1 million, be placed into the court registry until a final determination of entitlement is made among the plaintiffs and lien holders, court papers say.

According to the original petition, on Sept. 17, 2011, The County Store allegedly sold minors a large quantity of alcohol, which was a proximate cause of their intoxication and the deadly car crash that followed.

In their suit, the plaintiffs allege the defendants illegally provided alcohol to the teens in violation of the law prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors.

In addition to exemplary damages, the plaintiffs were suing for their pecuniary loss and mental anguish.

They are represented by Beaumont attorney Clay Dugas.

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DRAM SHOP AWARD:

Eddie’s Place Lawsuit Awards Matthew Eastridge $1.7M After DUI Crash

Posted by Seth Horowitz on Nov 28th, 2012

In Charlotte, North Carolina, a tragic drunk driving accident critically injured a young couple and claimed the lives of their unborn child and the drunk driver. Now, over two years later, a jury in a civil suit has ruled that the restaurant that served the drunk driver was negligent and awarded the young couple $1.7 million.
The verdict not only proved costly to Eddie’s Place, the restaurant that was sued, but shines a spotlight on a set of laws created to prevent restaurants and bars from serving alcohol to patrons already intoxicated. It also has set a precedent for future lawsuits that may occur in other states.

On October 29th, 2010, Matt Eastridge and his six-month pregnant wife, Meredith, were driving home when a drunk driver slammed into their Toyota RAV4. Police say the driver, David Huffman, had a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) that was roughly three times the legal limit and was driving faster than 100 mph when he crashed into the Eastridge’s vehicle. The 25-year-old driver had just left Eddie’s Place Restaurant and Bar in south Charlotte and was reported to have been served at least 10 drinks.

Recently, the young couple had won a civil suit filed against Eddie’s Place and the jury awarded them $1.7 million as they felt the restaurant was careless in serving alcohol to someone it knew or should have suspected was drunk.
The 32-year-old Matt Eastridge said he was “disgusted” upon learning that Huffman was served “the equivalent of 15 drinks in two hours.” He also said that he and his wife, also 32, had just finished using an ATM and was accelerating in their vehicle. “Then we got smashed,” he says. “We saw just enough to say, ‘What’s that guy doing?’ By the time we said this, it was over.”

Both ended up in a hospital for over a month where Meredith lost 40% of her blood and the baby. They also required lengthy therapy and had extensive surgeries. Matt said, “Mentally, it was very difficult. Obviously, it was very challenging physically.”
The attorney for Eddie’s Place, Rick Pinto, admitted that Huffman was given 10 drinks over a two-hour and 10-minute period. However, employees at the restaurant made an arrangement to get him a ride with another customer who lived in the same apartment complex. He said, “He accepted it and then went and drove his own car anyway.”

According to Pinto, an investigation by the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said the restaurant stopped serving Huffman any alcohol after they noticed he was “visibly intoxicated,” and that they strive to comply with laws that state not to serve patrons who are intoxicated or underage. Pinto added, “They’ve never, ever been cited for an alcohol-related violation, and they’ve been in business for 15 years.”
The issue is that there is a different standard for criminal liability then there is for legal liability. The Eastridge’s focused their lawsuit under North Carolina’s law which establishes the liability of businesses that serve alcohol to obviously drunk or underage people who end up causing injury or death to others in alcohol-related accidents.

Laws that are similar, known as dram shop laws, are on the books in some form in every state but seven.  Dram shop or dramshop is a legal term in the United States that refers to a tavern, a bar or the like where alcoholic beverages are sold.  Dram shop liability refers to the governing law that establishes the liability of liquor stores, taverns and commercial establishments that serve alcoholic beverages.
The laws establish the liability these places have after selling alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons or minors that then cause injury or death to third-parties (those not having a relationship to the bar) as a result of alcohol-related car crashes and other accidents.
Unfortunately, the laws widely vary and accordingly to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 31 states end up treating individual hosts who give alcohol to clearly drunk individuals with liability similar to restaurants and bars.

There are various limits to these laws in 24 states. The Eastridges’ attorney, Charles Monnett, feels that, “The national ramifications of this problem are enormous. In our research, we found that in 2010, there were about 10,000 drunk driving deaths in the U.S. Fifty percent of those folks were coming directly from a bar or restaurant where they were over-served.”
The other side looks differently at dram shop laws as they do not favor them. There is a common criticism of these laws in that it takes away any personal responsibility, which includes certain times that the drunk driver is allowed to file a lawsuit. Pinto also points out some laws, like North Carolina’s, is not clear and has too many grey areas. “It would be helpful in our state if the law was more clear. The law is, you can’t serve someone who is visibly intoxicated when you have reason to believe they are going to drive. It’s not our duty to make sure no one ever leaves a restaurant with more than .08 alcohol in their system. That’s not what the law is. But that may be what this jury decided.”

Dram Shop Laws have both supporters and non-supporters that feel there side is the right one. President Jan Withers of MADD feels that the laws help to cut down on excessive and illegal consumption, reduce drunken driving crashes and increase to the public the impact of over-serving to patrons. She says, “Dram shop laws are important because they encourage restaurants and bars to be responsible in serving alcohol. Establishments need to take this responsibility seriously. These laws also help provide justice for victims of drunk driving who are faced with the tremendous financial burden that follows a death or serious injury.”
Dram Shop Law expert Richard Smith, a partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm Wiley Rein, feels that the .08 blood-alcohol-content standard that is used in criminal cases “is meaningless in civil liability.” He says, “In most states, the patron has to be ‘visibly intoxicated’ at the time of service. The critical moment is when the bartender looks at a person and makes an evaluation. It really is the moment of truth. If you are a bar or restaurant, you need to know what the law is in your state. And most importantly, you need to train your servers and bartenders about the law in your state.”

Considering that the laws vary from state-to-state, dram shop laws will be out more in the public eye as more cases come to fruition. The recent lawsuit will intensify the debate, now that there has been established a legal precedent. As for the Eastridges, they now have a 6-month-old daughter named Sloane. Yet, they continue to be haunted by the events that occurred on that night in October over two years ago. According to Matt, “My wife and I would trade any dollar amount to have this not happen, and still have our son.”

Charlotte couple gets $1.7M from bar after DUI death

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DRAM SHOP SUIT:

Family of Ravenel Bridge crash victim suing Husk restaurant

Posted by Paul Bowers on Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 2:08 PM

The family of a man who died in a Dec. 17 car crash on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is suing the owners of the award-winning downtown restaurant Husk, alleging that they allowed an employee to drink to excess before getting on the road that night.

Quentin Gregory Miller, a 32-year-old Mt. Pleasant resident, died around 4 a.m. that Saturday morning after a car driven by Husk Assistant Manager Adam Joseph Burnell crashed into the rear of Miller's vehicle, causing both cars to careen out of control. According to the lawsuit, Miller suffered blunt force trauma in the initial collision and then died an excruciating death when he was trapped inside as flames engulfed his vehicle. Burnell was arrested and charged with felony DUI, and he was released on a $52,349 surety bond Dec. 18.

Terry Miller, Quentin Miller's father and the representative of his estate, filed a lawsuit last Friday against The Neighborhood Dining Group, the company that owns Husk as well as Queen Anne's Revenge and McCrady's. In the suit, he alleges that the company allowed Burnell to drink to excess and then drive away from the restaurant. He is suing for wrongful death and survival actions; negligent hiring, retention, and supervision; negligence per se; and dram shop negligence (specifically referring to laws that hold bars liable for drunken drivers leaving their premises). He has demanded a jury trial.

One of the accusations in the lawsuit is that Neighborhood Dining Group "failed to have a policy, or failed to enforce Defendant's policy, that no agents, servants, employees or managers, such as Adam Joseph Burnell, would be allowed to remain at Husk after dinner service and after their normal shift for the purpose of consuming alcohol."

Husk and its parent company have not yet issued a response to the lawsuit, but the company publicist plans to send out an official comment later today.

The December car crash made an emotional impact on Charleston's community of food and beverage workers, as many restaurant employees knew either one of the parties involved or both. Quentin Miller worked as a bartender at Henry's downtown and on Seabrook Island.

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DRAM SHOP AWARD:

The family of a man killed by a drunk driver is suing Cisero's Nightclub and Ristorante for over-serving alcohol to a customer.

Under Utah's dram shop laws, the family of Kamas resident Jose Pineda, 23, is alleging the employees' at the Park City restaurant and nightclub gave alcohol to an inebriated patron who later crashed his car, killing himself and Pineda.

According to Third District Court documents, on February 12, 2011, Orem resident Rick Ryan Hill, 35, had drinks at Cisero's before operating a vehicle. While driving eastbound on State Road 248 in Park City, Hill crossed the median into oncoming traffic and struck Pineda who was traveling westbound. Both men died at the scene. Hill had multiple previous driving-while-intoxicated convictions and his vehicle was required to be equipped with an interlock device.

Michael Katz, the lawyer for Pineda's estate, said that Hill had been drinking at Cisero's "all day" prior to the 8:30 p.m. accident and the servers there should have cut him off and not allowed him to drive.

"Under Utah's dram shop laws, Cisero's is strictly liable for giving beverages to someone and then having them be in an accident," Katz said. "He had been drinking there for some time and they should have known he was consuming too much."

Katz said Pineda left behind a small child, mother and brother and the settlement money will go to support them.

"We are suing Cisero's for $500,000, the maximum allowed under Utah law," he said. "They are required to have dram shop insurance and we will probably settle out of court. These kinds of cases never go to court because the clubs are not anxious to have them tried. Jurors don't like the idea of restaurants over-serving patrons."

Cisero's owner Steve McComb said his workers did absolutely nothing wrong and that Hill should not have been in a bar in the first place.

"We barely served Mr. Hill anything," McComb said. "Right after the accident, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and Utah Highway Patrol did its investigation and found we had done nothing wrong. At the time, we determined we had served him a beer and a shot I think. That was it. He could have had alcohol in his truck or a six pack outside in the snow, that happens and we cannot control it."

McComb added that this is the first time an incident like this has happened in his 30 years of working in the nightclub business and that all of his employees are certified to stop serving someone when they appear intoxicated.

"We have a standing policy that any employee who over-serves someone is fired and in this incident our employees did nothing wrong. This man obviously had a problem and there was no way for us to know this," he said.

As of Thursday, McComb had not been served with the lawsuit. Katz said they filed the lawsuit sooner than they would have liked because the statue of limitations was running out. Katz said they are also filing a lawsuit against Hill's estate.

Utah's dram shop laws

Under Utah's dram shop statute, bars and restaurants can be considered liable for injuries to any third person resulting from intoxication if they served alcohol to an intoxicated person, or to the point of intoxication or impairment. An employer is liable for the actions of their employees. The establishment cannot be sued for more than $500,000 per person or $1,000,000 per incident and must have dram shop insurance. Dram shop is a legal term referring to a place where alcohol is served.

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DRAM SHOP AWARD:

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011

By Deanna Boyd

FORT WORTH -- The family of a woman killed in December 2009 when an intoxicated off-duty Fort Worth police officer plowed into her car has sued the now-imprisoned man.

Relatives of Sonia Baker allege that Jesus Cisneros' actions that early December morning constituted gross negligence and were the result of "conscious indifference" to the safety, rights and welfare of Baker. The family is seeking unspecified damages.

The lawsuit was filed Aug. 3 in Tarrant County.

Cisneros, who resigned from the Police Department shortly after the wreck, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter during his trial in November and was sentenced by a jury to the maximum of 20 years in prison.

During the trial, Cisneros took the stand and admitted broadsiding Baker's PT Cruiser about 2:15 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2009, after drinking eight beers and four shots of liquor during another officer's birthday party at the Pour House on West Seventh Street. He had actually begun drinking while still on duty as part of an unauthorized undercover investigation into human trafficking.

Cisneros also acknowledged speeding through two red lights in his city-owned vehicle before the wreck at Columbus Trail and Evening Star Drive. Tests revealed a 0.17 blood-alcohol level.

Baker, a married dialysis technician with two sons, now ages 5 and 6, was on her way to a fast-food restaurant to get breakfast for her family. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Baker's family had sued the Pour House under the state's Dram Shop Act, which allows those who sell alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person to be held liable for resulting damages.

According to Tarrant County records, that suit was dismissed in March after the parties reached a settlement in which the bar and its affiliates agreed to pay almost $600,000

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DRAM SHOP CASE:

BARRY MASSEY  Associated Press
June 28, 2011 - 4:33 pm

SANTA FE, N.M. — The family of two siblings killed in a car accident can seek damages against a tribal casino for serving them alcohol after they became intoxicated, the state's highest court has ruled. Santa Ana Pueblo's casino had argued that the legal dispute should be handled in tribal court rather than in a state court. The state Supreme Court disagreed in a ruling on Monday.The unanimous decision permits a wrongful death lawsuit to move ahead against the Santa Ana Star Casino near Bernalillo.The case was brought by the mother and other family of Michael and Desiree Mendoza, a brother and sister who were killed in a car crash in July 2006 after attending a wedding reception at the casino. It's unclear which of the two were driving the car. The lawsuit claims their deaths were caused because the casino continued to serve them alcohol after they were intoxicated. A pueblo liquor ordinance prohibited the casino from serving alcoholic drinks to an intoxicated person.

David Plotsky, an Albuquerque lawyer for the Mendozas' mother and Desiree's two children, said Tuesday the ruling means "the tribal casinos are subject to the same set of laws and accountability as a nontribal bar or tavern." "I think it's fairly important because there is a lot of patronage of the casinos and whenever alcohol is involved there needs to be clarification that the state liquor liability laws are going to apply to activities on tribal casino property. That wasn't clear until now," said Plotsky.

New Mexico has a so-called "dram shop" law that permits intoxicated patrons to sue state-licensed bars to recover damages for their injuries. A state statute also allows claims by third parties — such as a motorist injured by a drunken driver — against a bar that served the intoxicated person. However, the casino is licensed by the pueblo — not the state — to sell alcohol. The casino contended a state court lacked jurisdiction over it. The justices said the damage claims against the casino were allowed under legal precedents in case law. The court also said a provision in a gambling compact between the state and the tribe provides for state courts to handle cases involving injuries to casino visitors.

The case goes back to a state district court in Albuquerque, which had dismissed the lawsuit. Richard Hughes, a lawyer for Santa Ana's casino, said his client was reviewing the decision and considering its legal options. He said the ruling "by no means determines the outcome of the case" and whether the casino will be held liable for damages.

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Debra Friedman, Staff Writer greenwichtime.com - Updated 09:57 p.m., Thursday, May 5, 2011

STAMFORD -- A national restaurant chain has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of a 20-year-old Riverside man who was killed in a 2008 drunken-driving accident, according to court records.

The settlement came just as lawyers for Dave & Buster's and the family of Joseph Borselio were getting ready to pick a jury during the initial phases of a trial in state Superior Court.

Borselio, 20, was killed in September 2008 while riding his bicycle after Douglas Moore, 25, of Riverside, struck him during a late-night accident on Sheephill Road.

Moore was driving home from Dave & Buster's in West Nyack, N.Y., at the time of the accident. Lawyers for the Borselio family claimed the restaurant chain, which is based in Texas, overserved Moore. The restaurant denied those claims.

"It was resolved as part of confidential settlement agreement," said Borselio family Attorney Eric Smith, of the Stratton Faxon law firm. "As you would expect, this was yet another very stressful time for the family, so they were pleased to be able to put this matter behind them."

A message seeking comment on the settlement was left with representative for Dave & Buster's.

Although the settlement was listed as confidential -- and Smith declined to release or discuss the dollar amount -- the figures were recently filed with the Greenwich probate court. A probate court judge must sign off on the agreement before it is finalized.

"Dave & Buster's and or its insurers are willing to tender the (gross) sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars in full and final settlement of the claims pursuant to a confidential settlement," states a probate court memo written by Smith.

The memo states the restaurant still disputes the Borselios' allegations, despite agreeing to the payout.

After deducting attorneys fees and expenses relating to the case, Smith estimated that the Borselio family would receive between $900,000 and $975,000, according to the memo.

That sum will be in addition to the $300,000 the family received from Moore's insurance company last year as part of the same lawsuit.

In addition to Moore, four restaurant senior executives were named in the 2009 lawsuit, which invoked a dram shop law whereby commercial establishments may be held liable for injuries or deaths that result from patrons involved in drunken-driving accidents.

Police said Moore, who is serving four years in jail, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 the night of the crash. The legal limit is 0.08.

Lawyers for the restaurant planned to call Moore and several Dave & Buster's managers to the stand to show that he was not overserved. They also planned to call several people who are listed as witnesses as well as economists and officials from the Greenwich Board of Education and ShopRite, who were to present school and employment records. Borselio worked at ShopRite in Stamford at the time of his death.

Lawyers for Borselio's family planned to call Greenwich medical personnel, several witnesses and police officers and family members. An economist and other experts were also expected to testify about Borselio's potential life earnings, although Dave & Buster's was trying to block some of those experts from taking the stand, according to court records.

A probate court judge is set to rule on the proposed settlement amount on June 2.

DRAM SHOP AWARD:

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DRAM SHOP AWARD:

by John Pirro, Staff Writer - Thursday, March 10, 2011

DANBURY -- A lawsuit against a Candlewood Lake bar stemming from a July 2008 drunken boating accident that killed two people and injured two others has been settled without trial.

Lawyers representing Down the Hatch in Brookfield, and three of the victims -- Jason Wanat, Kevin Sullivan and William D'Addio -- agreed to the settlement Tuesday, the day that jury selection in the case had been scheduled to begin in state Superior Court.

Because of a confidentiality agreement, the amount of the settlement was not disclosed. But the state's Dram Shop Act, under which the lawsuit was filed, limits damage awards to $250,000 to be divided among all parties.

Wanat, who was killed, and Sullivan, who was critically injured, were passengers in the speedboat operated by Richard Layton Jr. that collided with D'Addio's bass boat shortly after they left the lake side bar in Brookfield.

Layton, who state Department of Environmental Protection police said had a blood-alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit, was also killed in the crash.

The suit claimed employees of the bar continued to serve Layton alcohol even though he was clearly intoxicated.

"I can't talk about the numbers, but I believe all the parties were satisfied that the matter has been settled," said Danbury attorney David Bennett, who represents Sullivan.

Citing the confidentiality agreement, who represented Wanat's estate, declined to comment other than to confirm the case had been resolved.

Attorneys for D'Addio and Down the Hatch couldn't be reached Wednesday and neither could Scott Parente, permittee at Down the Hatch. The restaurant is closed for the season and two Brookfield telephone numbers listed for Parente weren't in service.

Although D'Addio, Sullivan and the Wanat estate were on the same side during the Danbury case, they are opposing parties in a much larger and more complex lawsuit pending at state Superior Court in Waterbury.

In that case, the Wanat estate and Sullivan are suing D'Addio and more than 70 other defendants, including the Candlewood Lake Authority, members of the Candlewood Lake Patrol, the New York bass fishing club that sponsored the fishing tournament in which D'Addio was a participant when the collision occurred and the municipalities bordering the lake. That case is far from ready for trial, the attorneys said.

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DRAM SHOP AWARD:

South Hackensack bar ordered to pay $800,000 under crash suit

BY KIBRET MARKOS

The Record STAFF WRITER Monday, January 31, 2011

A South Hackensack bar has been hit with an $800,000 verdict for serving alcohol to a woman who caused a crash that seriously injured her passenger two years ago.

Pleasure Lounge on Route 46 is responsible for 20 percent of a $4.1 million award given to Robert Randle of Oradell, who has been confined to a hospital and rehabilitation center since the Oct. 8, 2008, accident.

A jury in Superior Court in Hackensack found that the bar sold alcohol to a visibly intoxicated Dawn Wagner, who left the bar, picked up Randle from a diner, and 15 minutes later crashed into a utility pole in Ridgefield.

Wagner, who suffered a head laceration and was hospitalized after the crash, is responsible for 80 percent of the award.

“But she has minimal insurance,” said Randle’s attorney, Barry Epstein. “We are not too hopeful to get much, if anything, from her.”

Daniel Jahnsen, the attorney who represented Pleasure Lounge, did not return two phone calls Monday.

Epstein said Wagner, 37, and Randle, 59, became friends after they met at a diner where Wagner worked as a waitress and Randle was a regular.

Randle, who worked at a document production company in Hackensack, had given up his car because he couldn’t afford the insurance and other costs, Epstein said.

Wagner picked him up from the diner and was driving him to her home in Guttenberg when the crash occurred, Epstein said.

The crash left Randle with serious fractures and injuries, and he is still receiving treatment at a heath center in Oradell, Epstein said.

Randle’s lawsuit was filed under New Jersey’s “dram-shop” liability law. Alcohol vendors can be held responsible for damages caused by patrons if the patrons are minors or were visibly intoxicated when they were served alcohol

Michael Zenner - CEO      
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Toll Free: 800-880-0811

© Eye Spy Spotter Services Inc. 2010