re: Texas Bar To Pay $3M Bc Drunk Patron Killed 3 In Wreck

quote:

---

Again I guess what upsets me is this business, the owner was probably at home and it was a rogue employee, I just hate seeing business owners get this kind of treatment when it was employees who were at fault. As a business owner, this is the kind of stuff I hate stressing over.

---

If it makes you feel any better...

quote:

---

The original complaint listed Richard Loughridge, who owns both Papa's Ice House and Papa's On The Lake, as a defendant, but the order signed by 284th state District Court Judge Cara Wood on Thursday explicitly says the families cannot collect any money directly from Loughridge.

---

quote:

---

By your words, everyone should be cut off at a bar of . 08%?

---

Not my feelings at all. Going to a bar for 2.5 drinks would be pretty miserable. Texas law states that a person can bring a civil action against a bar if:

quote:

---

(1) at the time the provision occurred it was apparent to the provider that the individual being sold, served, or provided with an alcoholic beverage was obviously intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others; and
(2) the intoxication of the recipient of the alcoholic beverage was a proximate cause of the damages suffered.

---

That's the threshold. Is it wildly subjective? Yes. I'm glad we don't have dram shop statutes in Louisiana (we have reverse dram law statutes), but that is the law in Texas. If my relative was killed by a driver in Texas who had been over-served as defined here, I'd have no problem suing.

quote:

---

dabigfella

---

quote:

---

Again the question is are you legally allowed to get drunk even if you have a ride home?

---

In reading the statute, it doesn't seem limited to drunk driving. Any personal injury you cause after leaving the bar can lead to the bar being liable for some of the damages. You could take an Uber home, get in your Rolls Royce for a trip to Whataburger and the bar could be liable if you crash into some pedestrians. Crazy stuff.

When you take the test for the TABC to get your license to serve alcohol in TX, you are obligated to determine whether a person is drunk. I am at PaPa's often, and know the owner; they are good people, it's the bartenders job to identify, and cut off someone who is drunk, because ultimately you could go to jail.

quote:

---

Patron

---

Do I drink too much when I thought Patron, the tequila was somehow involved?

I place a lot of liquor insurance in Texas. The premiums are significantly higher than they are in Louisiana. You would think that the bar in this case would have insurance but many of them choose not to carry liquor liability.

The laws in Texas place the negligence largely on the bars. I have seen several large judgments against bars in cases where they literally put the plaintiff in a taxi/uber. Louisiana is very protective of its bars since it's so reliant on tourism. If some jackass from Ohio hurts himself, that's on him.

That's how I feel it ought to be. The onus of liability should be on the person who chooses to get drunk. I'm not saying that the bars shouldn't hold any responsibility, but IMHO the plaintiff should have to prove gross negligence on the part of the bar.

quote:

---

Also how is the bar liable for the negligent actions of a bartender?

---

100% responsible. Employees of the insured are considered named insureds under the policy. There actions are deemed to be the same as the insure - in this case, the bar owner. Same for contractors or any other line of work. Your direct employees are your responsibility.

quote:

---

i don't care about the laws...

people need to be responsible for their own actions.

---

quote:

---

Blackwell, whose blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash, originally was charged with three counts of intoxication manslaughter for the three people's deaths. But a criminal jury ruled him incompetent to stand trial in September 2014 after attorneys showed that the injuries he suffered during the crash caused him to have dementia and other mental ailments.

---

I guess he cannot be responsible for his own actions.

quote:

---

Again I guess what upsets me is this business, the owner was probably at home and it was a rogue employee, I just hate seeing business owners get this kind of treatment when it was employees who were at fault. As a business owner, this is the kind of stuff I hate stressing over.

---

If the bartender(s) serving the intoxicated person have a TABC license (A standardized state-sponsored training course) - The liability is on the bartender in a Dram Shop situation.

If the bartender(s) DO NOT have a current TABC license (they are good for 2 years) - The liability is on the establishment in a Dram Shop situation.

That is why the majority of places require their personnel to have a TABC license...even though it is not required by law to have one in order to work in those positions.

Guessing the place wasn't keeping up with who was current.

And yes - Dram Shop is a bunch of BS thanks to litigious blame-shifters. We can also thank M.A.D.D. - which just happens to be headquartered in Dallas.

Rabble Rabble tort reform.