TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A state judge on Friday upheld a $105 million verdict against a Giants Stadium concessionaire for selling beer to a drunken football fan who later caused an auto accident, leaving a girl paralyzed.
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The family claimed Aramark vendors sold beers to Lanzaro at the stadium in East Rutherford even though he was clearly drunk. The company, they said, fostered an atmosphere in which intoxicated patrons were able to buy more.
Lanzaro had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit after the crash.
He testified he bought six beers at halftime even though he said he had already drunk at least six during the first half and was slurring his speech.
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Several thousand people must have also bought beer that nigh - can the people selling beer really be held liable ? Is it REALLY the responsibility of those selling the alcohol to monitor the blood/alcohol level of those buying ? Should Ford motor company be liable for selling an automobile to someone who was liable to drink ? Maybe the gas station that sold the gas before the wreck ? Maybe any of the people sitting next to the guy for not noticing he was too intoxicated to drive ? Maybe the brewery who sold the beer to the vendors who sold the beer to the guy who didn't know when to stop drinking ?
Because the "do gooders" in that state have Dram Shop laws that hold the vendors/liquor stores/taverns responsible for someone elses action.
Illinois has the same laws. They're absolutely nuts. Thank god the Tavern League is very powerful in wisconsin and prevented that lunatic type legislation from being pushed through.
It will end when we demand it to end, when we as a nation and as individuals can no longer afford to pay the insurance premiums for our homes, cars and businesses. When the cost of goods and services have risen so much that we can no longer afford these ridiculous awards, then it will end. Juries seem to think that nobody is being hurt by these awards little realizing that we all end up paying for them in the guise of higher rates for everything we purchase because as insurance premiums increase, those cost are passed along to all of us.
Doctors are already giving up their practices because they can no longer afford insurance, you cannot buy a rifle or handgun today that doesn't have a lawyer proof trigger. We pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars more for cars, tires and other goods and services than they are valued at due to passed along rates for liability insurance. When we finally get sick of it and demand tort reform, it will end.
Coastie - excellent point. The insurance company of the vendor paid bigtime, and they just turned around and raised premiums on everyone else. So EVERYONE pays for the idnocy court rulings.
Not that I necessarily agree with the ruling, but why all the surprise? This has been going on for decades - bartenders everywhere have been held accountable for overserving customers who later went on to kill people. Nothing new here.
The only difference is the size of the punitive damages, which reflect the amount of money the defendent has - in proportion to what small bar owner would get hit with, this is probably right in line.
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This will probably go a lot quicker if you just recognize that you are wrong and I am right.
It can be because there are insurance companies with deep pockets. What could the insurance company have done to prevent this since it is obviously their fault according to the plaintiff? Well, glad I asked. The insurance company should not have written the policy unless the concessionaire had spent money educating the barkers to closely analyze each individual before selling that person beer. That might not be practical because there is so much turnover that it would be an ongoing education process. Well then, maybe the insurance company could require the barkers to carry portable breathalyzers. Don't laugh, there are devices out there right now that can be placed over the eye to determine BA levels. While not legal for law enforcement to use (yet), a concession barker isn't trying to put anybody in jail, he's just trying to determine if the individual is drunk, nobody goes to jail or anything. If people feel like their rights are being infringed on, tough luck, submit or don't drink beer at the stadium. If that seems too radical then how about this..... The stadium concessionaire just doesn't sell beer at all, problem solved. And while they're at it, maybe they should not sell any product with sugar, msg or aspertame. After all, those products can cause certain people to flip out at any moment.
And there you have it, no beer, no candy, no hot dogs, no hambergers, no soda, and no diet soda. Hope everybody likes peanuts!
bartenders everywhere have been held accountable for overserving customers who later went on to kill people. Nothing new here.
Not in Wisconsin.
Thank god. We still have a wee bit of sense left.
Seriously? In WI a bartender can keep serving a guy until he's near passed out, then watch him get into a car and leave and he has no accountability at all?
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This will probably go a lot quicker if you just recognize that you are wrong and I am right.
how can this possibly be ?
