News & Politics - Beer vendor to pay $135m to girl hit by drunken fan

**Avatar** · 01-22-2005, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Expert: $135 million verdict in alcohol liability case should send wakeup call to teams

DAVID PORTER

Associated Press

ROSELAND, N.J. - A $135 million jury award to the family of a girl paralyzed in a car accident caused by a drunken football fan should act as a wakeup call to sports teams and their vendors, the head of a nonprofit group that advises the four major professional sports leagues said Thursday.

"It's a huge tragedy," said Jill Pepper, executive director of Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management, or TEAM, a coalition that includes representatives from professional football, basketball, baseball and hockey. "But every stadium worker needs to be aware that when they're doing their job, it's not just handing someone a beer or making change and closing a register. It's providing a safe, secure experience for everyone at the ballpark. Hopefully this trial will reinforce that."

On Wednesday, a Bergen County jury awarded $75 million in punitive damages to the family of 7-year-old Antonia Verni, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1999 accident involving a fan leaving a game at Giants Stadium.

Combined with $60 million in compensatory damages awarded a day earlier, it is the largest alcohol liability award in the U.S. in at least the last 25 years, according to Jennifer Shannon of Jury Verdict Research, a Pennsylvania firm that analyzes trends in personal injury lawsuits.

Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., which operates the concessions at Giants Stadium and about three dozen other indoor and outdoor stadiums that house pro teams, has said it will appeal the verdict. Through a spokeswoman, the company declined comment Thursday and referred questions to Pepper.

The jury ruled against Aramark after the fan, Daniel Lanzaro of Cresskill, testified he bought six beers at halftime of the game even though he said he had already drunk at least six during the first half and was slurring his speech.

Giants Stadium rules prohibit vendors from selling more than two beers at a time to one person, but Lanzaro testified he paid a vendor $10 to ignore the rule. Vendors also are not supposed to serve anyone who is demonstrably intoxicated.

After the accident, Lanzaro's blood-alcohol level was measured at more than twice the legal limit of .10. Lanzaro pleaded guilty to vehicular assault and is serving a five-year prison term.

At a news conference Thursday attended by Antonia Verni and her parents, Ronald Verni said his daughter needs round-the-clock care that has been provided up to now by him and his wife, Fazila, who was also injured in the accident.

"Hopefully she'll be able to get the care she needs and deserves," Verni said, choking back tears. "Hopefully she'll be able to enjoy some of the things she wouldn't have been able to enjoy."

In addition to suing Aramark and Lanzaro, the Vernis had also sued the NFL, the Giants and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, but a judge dismissed those complaints last fall, ruling they were not liable.

The NFL did not comment on the verdicts Thursday, and spokesman Greg Aiello did not say whether the league was considering changing its stadium alcohol policies. The league requires teams to stop serving beer by the end of the third quarter, but other rules on serving alcohol are the province of the teams and their vendors. The Giants stop all alcohol sales at the beginning of the third quarter.

"We review those policies and we will continue to do so," Aiello said.

In a statement, the Giants said, "No words can express the sorrow we feel for what the Verni family has gone through. We believe that Aramark has the right alcohol policies in place and will take the necessary and appropriate steps to enforce those policies."

TEAM sponsors training programs for event-day staff to recognize signs of impairment in customers. It also created a contest in which fans who sign up to be designated drivers are eligible for drawings for World Series or Super Bowl tickets. Pepper said about 80,000 fans signed up for the program during the last season, but acknowledged that more publicity is needed.

"We need to create an environment where having a beer at a ballgame is OK as long as you handle it responsibly and are over 21," she said. "There's a lot being done, it's just a matter of continuing to prioritize and make people aware of it."

I have a question here ... if he, instead of buying them at Giants Stadium, would have gone into a store and bought six beers would the store have been liable? I doubt it. So why's Aramark liable to the tune of $135m? Yeah, they shouldn't have let him buy six beers, but I still put the blame on the person that was stupid enough to drive drunk and not the ones that sold him the beer. To me, this is the same thing as charging the gun manufactor in a gun-death.

mh67511 · 01-22-2005, 04:58 PM

I guess you could argue that Aramark was responsible for hiring the person that sold the beer. It's THEIR job to make sure THEIR employees are following the procedures. And then you could argue that had the employee who was hired by Aramark followed the procedures, there is a chance that the fan would not have gotten drunk, etc.

I wonder if Aramark allowed employees to accept tips. I know at one of my previous jobs, we were not allowed to accept tips and would be fired if we did. The reason he was sold so many beers was because he gave him a tip.

It's like where I work. If someone under 16 stays even one minute past 7PM and they are on the clock, the company can be fined. Even though the kid knows they can't be there, if they stay past 7PM they don't get in trouble, management does.

I still don't know how I feel though, because I personally don't feel like it's Aramarks fault.

I mean were there no police near the parking garages? Every game I've ever been to, there were a LOT of police afterwards, especially monitoring traffic. Surely they would have noticed if he was driving erratically??

Sir Fireboard · 01-23-2005, 05:29 AM

Holy crap! $135 million

I think I'd rather be able to walk though.

Lovesbitch · 01-23-2005, 08:50 AM

That's cr*p.

Yeah what happened was sad but come on.

For all the vendor knew the guy could be buying the beers for his group of friends, 1 for each.

And it's completely legal to buy as much beer as you want anywhere else. Two of my friends went into a quickstop and bought like 40 cans of it.

Yeah the vendor should have limited it if that was the policy but if the guy wanted the beer bad enough he would have just sent his friend back up to buy two more. If he wanted to drink he would have gotten the alcohol somehow. Just cause he bought it all at once doesn't make it the company's falut the moron made the decision to drive.

I don't know, how about suing the guy that crashed into you and caused the damage?

Oh right, he doesn't have as much money so who cares?

ceilirose · 01-23-2005, 10:02 AM

I saw this on the news on Friday. The guy who hit her had three times the legal limit of alchohol in his blood system. He even said by his own account that he was served at least 10 beers during the game.

The family's reasoning for suing was the money needed for this little girl's care throughout her life. 40 million was a conservative estimate. The father wanted to donate to stem cell research with the hope that the girl was young enough that it might benefit her at some point. I don't really think the family was money hungry.

It's a tough situation. I don't think the family qualified for Medicare nor would their insurance cover a lot of what this little girl would need to survive.

We know we all need an answer to health care insurance in this country and this is just a part of it.

mh67511 · 01-23-2005, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovesbitch

I don't know, how about suing the guy that crashed into you and caused the damage?

Oh right, he doesn't have as much money so who cares?

From another article:

Quote:

The fan and the concessionaire at Giants Stadium who sold him the beers he drank have been ordered to pay a total of 60 (m) million dollars in compensatory damages. The concessionaire, Aramark, will have to pay another 75 (m) million in punitive damages.

They DID go after the guy who crashed into her.

http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=2840407

No1important · 01-23-2005, 03:52 PM

From my memory a lot of those huge settlement are shrunk down considerably on appeal.

The stadium has to take some responsibility though. If he was that intoxicated he should not of been served but I do know stadiums are busy and it is easy to hide being intoxicated if you really want a beer or get someone else to get it for you. He said he paid vendor 10 to ignore his intoxication and order 6 more? That vendor should be fired but I guess it happens a fair bit as vendors don't make much, I guess.

I think they should of sued his vehicle insurance company.

No one wins in a case like this though.

Vampires_Bite · 01-23-2005, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No1important

From my memory a lot of those huge settlement are shrunk down considerably on appeal.

The stadium has to take some responsibility though.

Why? The pub that i work in is classified as part of a shopping center, so if anything happens in their they should also be accountable?

The way i see it there are only two responsible the drunk and the guy who served him (therefore his company)

SuperDeluxe · 01-23-2005, 08:27 PM

Completely agree. Now stores/Bars might be liable for people who are drunk causing death/injury.

I do not like where this is going.

oh and 135 million is so excessive...its beyond stupid.

86amanda86 · 01-24-2005, 02:33 PM

I think somebody has to be responsible for this. Maybe not 135m responsible, but still....

BTW, lovesbitch, I love your avi!

rubydh18 · 01-24-2005, 11:12 PM

135 million and they're suing mostly everyone connected?
That is seriously going too far.

They should go ahead and sue God for creating alcohol.


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