Is this a valid lawsuit?

Would you call this lawsuit valid?

  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .

New Posts

Steely Dan

Steely Dan

Former Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2008
Messages
30,558
Reaction score
105
http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/21...lls-Game-Now-Family-Preps-Wrongful-Death-Suit

Son Died After Bills Game, Now Family Preps Wrongful Death Suit
12:57 PM, Jun 21, 2013

...In a Notice of Claim that's been filed in State Supreme Court in Erie County, the family accuses the county of negligence by ejecting Gerken from the game drunk and letting him walk away....

There's more to the article I suggest you read the whole thing.

My take, putting aside my Bills fandom, is this. If you're drunk and disorderly at a place you well know will kick you out for being that way. The stadium and county have no responsibility for that. The guy was 26, that's not a kid anymore. JMO
 
did the county or the stadium or any of their employees force beer down his throat? no? then I suppose they have no case

oh and since they think the county is responsible, perhaps they should sue the family members who were at the game and failed to adequately supervise him when they knew he was drunk - they could've left when he did but they stayed at the game

~'nuff said~
 
I might be wrong, but I don't believe the county has a legal duty of care. So no, I don't think it's a valid lawsuit.

HOWEVER.

I don't know the laws regarding responsible service of alcohol in the US. If a person is drunk in Australia there are laws about serving them more alcohol. If the family could prove that their son was drunk and was served more alcohol illegally by the patron, there might be some sort of loophole.

I voted 'not sure' simply because I don't know enough about the local laws to say whether it's legally valid or not.
 
fruity said:
I might be wrong, but I don't believe the county has a legal duty of care. So no, I don't think it's a valid lawsuit.

HOWEVER.

I don't know the laws regarding responsible service of alcohol in the US. If a person is drunk in Australia there are laws about serving them more alcohol. If the family could prove that their son was drunk and was served more alcohol illegally by the patron, there might be some sort of loophole.

I voted 'not sure' simply because I don't know enough about the local laws to say whether it's legally valid or not.
Click to expand...

Bartenders are supposed to cut people off if they're obviously drunk. However, it's a stadium game. So some one sober could buy Beers for blotto guys anyway. It will be interesting to see how this goes. They'll probably settle out of court.
 
I voted "Other," because I don't now what New York's laws are regarding liability when alcohol is involved. In Iowa, the bartender and the establishment are liable for the actions of every person they serve for the next 24 hours after the person is served a drink. However, the 1st bar becomes less liable if the person goes onto drink in several bars in the same night, especially if they're showing signs of being intoxicated and continue to get served alcohol--because that's illegal in Iowa.

If this incident happened in Iowa, I would say there's a possibility the land-owner could be be held liable for not having a fence; but there's also a lot of factors that could reduce the percentage of fault on the land-owner's part. The time between when he was kicked out and when he fell over the slope is one factor, as is whether or not the land-owner knew of the hazard.
 
It's a ridiculous lawsuit and the family should be ashamed of themselves. Seriously? They knew he was drunk, they may have (probably) contributed to his drunkenness, and when he was ejected, one of them should have gone with him. Who would let a drunk family member (or friend) wander off and expect them to be capable of showing up where they were supposed to be?

But they'll probably get $$ out of this suit, because people aren't expected to be responsible anymore - the only parties expected to be responsible are the ones with deep pockets and good insurance.
 
It bugs me when people complain about "big brother" dictating and watching their every move, and then sue when "big brother" didn't do just that.

What ever happened to personal responsibility and common sense?
 
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbc.../CITYANDREGION/130629762/two-bills-drive-1010


Family of drowned, possibly drunken Bills fan, weighs lawsuit
By Phil Fairbanks | News Staff Reporter
on June 22, 2013 - 12:00 AM, updated June 22, 2013 at 1:47 AM

...“Right now, the family is undecided over what to do," said Eric M. Dolan, a Rochester lawyer representing the Gerkens. ”This is really just administrative at this point." Dolan emphasized over and over again that Gerken’s family filed the notice of claim, the first step in a lawsuit, as a way of preserving their right to sue.

They now have two years to decide.

When asked what might convince the family to sue, or not sue, Dolan said that was a private family matter.

Dolan declined to comment on what the family’s lawsuit might allege, but the notice of claim outlines two potential allegations. One, that Gerken was forced to leave the stadium while intoxicated and during extremely cold weather. Temperatures that night - the game was on a Thursday – dipped below freezing....
 
I voted NO!!!!!

why doesn't this family just sue God... Or the powers that be... Who created substances that cause intoxication.,.

(Sarcasm by me)

People need to take responsibility for their own actions... For goodness sakes...

Jeez.... :no:
 
Are they going to sue the rest of his party because they didn't leave the game when he got kicked out? If he was allegedly drunk and disruptive then the rest of his party should have known his condition. You would think at least one would have left to keep an eye on him.
 
They might have a case against whoever continued to serve the drunk drinks. They shouldn't have a case but I fear they might.
 
mysteriew said:
Are they going to sue the rest of his party because they didn't leave the game when he got kicked out? If he was allegedly drunk and disruptive then the rest of his party should have known his condition. You would think at least one would have left to keep an eye on him.
Click to expand...

They don't have any money. Also a lot of them are family, I believe. They're looking for the deep pockets.
 
I am the mother of a beautiful 17 year old girl named Meredith who was killed on February 8, 2008 in a car accident in Chattanooga, TN. The accident was brought on by drunk driving. The adult who bought the alcohol for the teenagers he frequently had over to his house spent 6 months in jail. Time will tell if this was enough time. If he has bought alcohol again for a teenager, I haven't heard of it.

There was talk of several other lawsuits, and I spoke with many attorneys. In the end, it just wasn't worth it. If I really thought that money could have brought healing to my family, then perhaps - but we all knew better than that. The man who was convicted lost his job and was all but forced to move out of state. Did the punishment fit the crime? Many say no, but I - her mother - say yes. It was time to let go. The grief is awful, even now, but to continue to bring it up and tell and re-tell the story in hopes for a buck - no thanks. I can speak publicly about Meredith's story in hopes that other kids and adults take heed. I can do all of that without other people's money.

Thanks for reading,

Rommelain
Registered User
 
Rommelain said:
I am the mother of a beautiful 17 year old girl named Meredith who was killed on February 8, 2008 in a car accident in Chattanooga, TN. The accident was brought on by drunk driving. The adult who bought the alcohol for the teenagers he frequently had over to his house spent 6 months in jail. Time will tell if this was enough time. If he has bought alcohol again for a teenager, I haven't heard of it.

There was talk of several other lawsuits, and I spoke with many attorneys. In the end, it just wasn't worth it. If I really thought that money could have brought healing to my family, then perhaps - but we all knew better than that. The man who was convicted lost his job and was all but forced to move out of state. Did the punishment fit the crime? Many say no, but I - her mother - say yes. It was time to let go. The grief is awful, even now, but to continue to bring it up and tell and re-tell the story in hopes for a buck - no thanks. I can speak publicly about Meredith's story in hopes that other kids and adults take heed. I can do all of that without other people's money.

Thanks for reading,

Rommelain
Registered User
Click to expand...

That's awful. :hug:
 
I voted "other" because while I think it is morally reprehensible to file this lawsuit, I fear some bleeding heart will go along with the idea that personal/family responsibility does not exist any more. It may be immoral, but don't know if it's valid.
 
Rommelain, you definitely have my thoughts and prayers. Can't imagine how awful that must be.

A bit o/t perhaps, but my husband some others at work were discussing special law enforcement patrols aimed at stopping drunk drivers. Some of the guys were yapping about their right to go out and drink, etc. My husband asked if they felt the others on the road also had any rights and what about their possible victims and THEIR families. That certainly put a damper on the discussion and caused a few to look at it from that angle.
 
Rommelain said:
I am the mother of a beautiful 17 year old girl named Meredith who was killed on February 8, 2008 in a car accident in Chattanooga, TN. The accident was brought on by drunk driving. The adult who bought the alcohol for the teenagers he frequently had over to his house spent 6 months in jail. Time will tell if this was enough time. If he has bought alcohol again for a teenager, I haven't heard of it.

There was talk of several other lawsuits, and I spoke with many attorneys. In the end, it just wasn't worth it. If I really thought that money could have brought healing to my family, then perhaps - but we all knew better than that. The man who was convicted lost his job and was all but forced to move out of state. Did the punishment fit the crime? Many say no, but I - her mother - say yes. It was time to let go. The grief is awful, even now, but to continue to bring it up and tell and re-tell the story in hopes for a buck - no thanks. I can speak publicly about Meredith's story in hopes that other kids and adults take heed. I can do all of that without other people's money.

Thanks for reading,

Rommelain
Registered User
Click to expand...

That is very very sad to read :( and I really admire your strength to do the above, it would be extremely hard to let go of the anger, I do not know if I personally could. My thoughts are with you.
 
Gerken was supposed to meet his brother at a bar, but instead, went missing.
Click to expand...

Did he continue drinking after he was thrown out? Apparently there were plans to, anyway.
 
I don't know the laws there, but in most places around here he would have been arrested for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. I'm sure he and his family would have had a lot to say about how unfair that was, but it beats what did happen. MOO
 
If the stadium served him a bunch of booze then ejected him, that is wrong. Given the cold weather and state he was in, arrest would be better, but there's no telling how many drunk and unruly get ejected every game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 168 more.
Total: 4,525 (members: 169, guests: 4,356)

Online statistics

Members online
169
Guests online
4,356
Total visitors
4,525
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,424
Messages
17,968,619
Members
228,765
Latest member
Mona Lisa
Back
Top