Dramshop

DRAMSHOP LAW CITED IN CIVIL SUIT OVER FATALITY
Published on Saturday, April 25, 1998
© 1998 The Arizona Republic
Byline: By Jim Walsh, The Arizona Republic

After her death, the parents of 20-year-old Aimee Ellis filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court against the driver, his family and the Chandler bar accused of serving the underage man.
The suit, filed in March, alleges negligence and cites the state's dramshop law, which holds bars accountable for serving drunken patrons.
In addition to naming the driver, Matt Demos, 20, the suit names his parents and the Stadium Club, a Chandler bar that it accuses of serving him before the Dec. 13 collision.
''There's no question that kid was underage. There's no question that he spent several hours in that bar,'' said attorney Jim Hill, who represents John Ellis and Bonnie Crutcher, Aimee's parents.
''The information that we have is that he was never carded.''
A Stadium Club waitress told Chandler police she mistakenly thought Demos wasn't driving that night, and she took a beer away from him after deciding he was drunk, according to a police report.
Shawn Smith, a friend who drank with Demos at the Stadium Club and elsewhere that night, estimated Demos drank a 22-ounce Budweiser, five 12-ounce Budweisers, five Amstel Lights and two shots of Jagermeister during a seven-hour period, the report said.
The lawsuit says Demos ''was operating a motor vehicle in a grossly inebriated state and at an extremely unsafe and recklessly high rate of speed, which evidenced an utter disregard or lack of concern for the health and safety of others.''
Hill accused the Stadium Club and its owner, Pro Clubs Inc., of negligence for illegally serving Demos, ''which was a significant factor leading to the gross insobriety of the defendant.''
His parents, Robert and Lynda Demos, were accused of negligence because they allowed him to drive their 1990 Nissan pickup truck.
The Stadium Club had no comment on the suit.
Gary Burger, a Phoenix attorney who defends bars and restaurants in dramshop cases, said such suits are commonplace.
''We've generally had very good success in defending these cases,'' Burger said. ''But these suits are brought in horrible accidents. The dramshop is looked at as having deep pockets.'' Because suits are filed months if not years after an accident, it's difficult for bar owners to remember how much they served someone, he said.
Defense attorneys usually rely on a bar's policies designed to eliminate serving underage drinkers, Burger said.
''Many times, you're stuck with what the drunk says,'' Burger said. ''Juries have generally put the blame where I think it should be, on the drunk driver.''