Houston Jury Issues Defense Verdict in Dram Shop Collision

In November 2012, a head-on collision occurred on the Gulf Freeway in Houston when a vehicle driving the wrong way struck another car. The occupants of the struck vehicle, a driver and two passengers, sustained multiple injuries, including fractures, internal injuries, a ruptured spleen, and soft tissue damage. The driver, a firefighter, was hospitalized for months and underwent several operations. The passengers also received significant medical treatment.

The injured parties initially sued the wrong-way driver, alleging intoxication and negligence. That driver, who was left in a permanent vegetative state, settled for a confidential amount more than six months before trial. The plaintiffs then added Montrose Business Interests, operating as Bayou City Bar & Grill, to the lawsuit, alleging violations of the Texas Dram Shop Act. They claimed the bar served the wrong-way driver when he was obviously intoxicated, posing a clear danger to himself and others. Plaintiffs' witnesses testified the driver consumed numerous drinks, slurred his speech, fell, fought, and was ejected from the bar shortly before the accident. Toxicology and dram shop experts for the plaintiffs opined the driver's blood alcohol content was high and his intoxication would have been obvious to bartenders.

Montrose Business Interests denied negligence and disputed serving the driver while he was obviously intoxicated. The defendant argued that witnesses did not testify to obvious intoxication at the specific times of service, that the driver was ejected earlier than claimed, and may have consumed alcohol at other nearby establishments. The defense also raised a "safe harbor" provision of the Dram Shop Act, which protects alcohol providers if bartenders attend a training program, though plaintiffs questioned compliance.

Following a two-week trial in Houston, the jury found Montrose Business Interests was not negligent. The jury did find the wrong-way driver negligent and awarded the plaintiffs $1,442,500 in damages for past medical costs, pain, impairment, and mental anguish. However, because the wrong-way driver had settled prior to trial, the plaintiffs collected no additional damages from him based on the verdict, and received no damages from Montrose Business Interests.