Md. case raises question of bar liability in fatal drunk driving

Sunday - 6/26/2011, 2:50pm ET

WASHINGTON - A civil case making its way through the Maryland Courts is raising the question of whether a bar should be held responsible for serving a man who was involved in a fatal drunk driving crash.

Dram shop laws -- which allow liability to be imposed on bars or restaurants that have served alcohol to drunken drivers who kill someone -- exist in 37 states, but not Maryland.

Mongtomery County Circuit Judge Eric Johnson is deciding whether to send a civil lawsuit against Dogfigh Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg to trial. Lawyers for the alehouse have asked Johnson to dismiss the case because the state does not have dram shop laws.

According to the Gazette, Johnson wrote in April that the "restaurant's staff could and should have predicted that the man might drive recklessly and kill or seriously injure someone."

The family of 10-year-old Jazimen Warr filed the civil suit seeking $3.25 million from the restaurant. Jazimen was killed on Interstate 270 in 2008 by a Fairfax man who was served drinks at Dogfish Head. The Warrs want the alehouse held partially responsible for Jazimen's death.

Dram shop laws apply to places where alcoholic beverages are sold. The term dates back to the 18th century, when a dram shop was a place where spirits were sold by the "dram" which is a small unit of liquid.

Michael Eaton, who hit the Jeep in which Warr was riding, is in jail. Eaton rang up a tab at Dogfish Head that included 14 drinks and two shots. Then the alehouse started him a second tab, ultimately serving Eaton three more beers and another shot.

Eaton then drove off in his Land Rover and crashed into Warr's Jeep. Police records indicate Eaton was traveling upwards of 80 miles an hour when he crashed.

Eaton pleaded guilty in July to vehicular manslaughter and failure to remain at the scene of an accident. He is serving eight years in jail after being sentenced to 10 years with two years suspended for manslaughter and 10 years with all years suspended for failing to remain at the scene.



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Hmmm. Tricky one. I love drinking at that place, but there are sometimes some wasted people there after work.

I'm surprised I haven't seen this pursued more aggressively.

This is very tricky. The staff at a smaller quiet bar shouldn't have a problem noticing when someone has had too much. A larger bar/club in downtown on a Friday or Saturday night is a different story. These places are so busy it's impossible to keep track of how much people drink, especially when large groups are ordering rounds. The places I used to go to are very quick to cut you off if you're visibly drunk, but this doesn't accomplish much if your friend can order another for you and there's a large crowd to shield you. The police could be doing a better job to discourage this as well. I know without a doubt that there's literally hundreds (if not thousands) of people leaving the bars in New Haven at 2:00am on weekends that should not be driving, yet there's no DUI stops anywhere near these areas, and no extra police looking for drunk drivers on the highways.

I think this is bullshit. People are responsible for themselves. The bar should have no legal responsibility