Dream sued for providing underager with alcohol. . .

[cookiegirl]

No matter what my opinon of Dream and the like is -- this sets a scary precedent for clubs and bars. .

Officer's Family Sues Over Fatal Crash

D.C. Club Accused of Selling Drinks to Woman Charged in BW Parkway Death

By a Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 2, 2002; Page B02

The family of a U.S. Park Police officer killed by a driver on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway sued the trendy D.C. nightclub yesterday that allegedly served the underage patron drinks before she made the fatal drive.

Jimmy Bell, the attorney for the estate of Hakim A. Farthing, 28, filed suit yesterday afternoon in U.S. District Court against the Dream nightclub, an upscale nightspot at 1350 Okie St. NE.

The suit, which seeks $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages, alleges that Jovada P. Welch, 20, of Silver Spring had been drinking at the club the night of Aug. 10. After leaving, according to police, she drove onto the parkway and hit Farthing about 3:30 a.m.

The Park Police officer was investigating an earlier traffic fatality. Police set up cones and flares to block off a ramp leading from the southbound lanes of the parkway to New York Avenue NE, but Welch plowed through the barriers and struck Farthing, police said.

She was arrested at the scene and later charged with driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter. The legal drinking age in the District is 21.

"We have information that puts her at the Dream nightclub, drinking just before the incident," Bell said. "We are of the opinion that if they had not been negligent and allowed that underage drinker to come in and consume alcohol, Hakim would be alive today."

David Wilmot, the attorney for nightclub owner Marc Barnes, said yesterday that the case "is still under investigation and will ultimately be decided in a court of law. It's not appropriate for us to have a response at this time."

Suits against businesses that serve too much alcohol to patrons or serve underage patrons are fairly common, but plaintiffs face difficult legal hurdles in proving negligence. Welch, the driver, is not named as a defendant in the suit.

In the four-page filing, Bell alleges that Welch "consumed alcohol and partied" at the club before driving her car.

"Ms Welch was so intoxicated that after leaving . . . she lost her sense of direction and believed that she was traveling the wrong way on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway," according to the suit. "Ms. Welch drove off of the parkway via the exit ramp, circled around and re-entered the parkway via the entrance ramp headed for the District."

Farthing was investigating a fatal accident that had occurred about two hours earlier when a man traveling west on Route 50 lost control of his car and crashed.

After Welsh drove through the police barriers and hit Farthing, she continued until she reached the site of the first accident at the bottom of the ramp, police said.

Farthing, a Philadelphia native and two-year member of the force, was a Rutgers University graduate and an Army veteran. The father of a 3-year-old son, he was assigned to the Park Police station in Anacostia and was investigating the accident in Cheverly as part of his regular duties. His was the first death of an on-duty Park Police officer since 1988.

"I want the lawsuit to put pressure on these institutions that allow these types of things to happen," said James Farthing, the slain officer's father. "My life has been devastated, as well as that of my wife, our daughter and Hakim's son. He was the light in all of our lives."

[malanee]

That is such BS!!!! That woman was an adult and fully responsible for her own actions. What a crock!

[revaluation]

OK, this really sucks. For everybody involved.

My my basic values say you take responsibility for cause and effect. There are a million things that could've happened after she left the club, inluding her getting in a cab and going to a friend's house. The buck stops with her.

This may seem silly, and I dont mean to make light of this awful situation, but think of this: If the consequence (in this case, the accident) was a direct result of her being served alchohol by the club, then what if she did get a cab and found a winning lottery ticket that someone had dropped. Under this logic, the club was the cause of her getting a cab, so they must have some claim to the prize.

It sounds silly, but if you connect this kind of consequence (whatever happens after she leaves regardless of the choicemaker) to the cause (serving her alchohol) then endless number senarios can occur.

[vicman]

i agree with you all, but also we should realize that in light of recent things clubs and bars should now really focus on cleaning their act. if its over 21, then its over 21 no exceptions period.

obviously the US in the country of lawsuits. the womans family (who unfortunately died as a consequence of the accident) simply saw where she could make a quicker buck. the club should be held accountable for what goes on inside the establishment and who goes into the establishment. once the person leaves the facility, the clubs responsibility ends. of course the club has more $$$ than the kids family, so the womans family sued the club.

[kramadas]

How are they going to prove she got drinks from Dream? Her testimony?

This is sad though...

[velvetgoldmire]

Originally posted by vicman

the womans family (who unfortunately died as a consequence of the accident) simply saw where she could make a quicker buck.

I don't agree with this part. I don't think they are doing it to make a quick buck. I think they are so pissed off at what happened and the person who died, that they are trying to hold all who could be considered remotely accountable responsible. I have never been to Dream, and don't know how they card, what they do to make sure only people of age drink, etc. But, most clubs and bars card pretty well, since they don't want to lose their liquor licences. I don't think you can hold the club accountable, since it wasn't the club driving the car. Maybe they should sue the education system as well for not teaching the kid the dangers of drinking and driving.

It is a tragedy and I feel for the family of the decesed, but to sue the club is a bit of a stretch. Even though the club probably will get in trouble for this...

[djbuster]

someone should check and see if the girl has a fake id or something. the one time i went to dream, i was with someone underage - and the door people were extremely hard. we ended up not getting in because she was underage.

most clubs do as much as they can to prevent underage people from getting served alcohol, but it's impossible to prevent any and all kids from getting in. she should not have been behind the wheel - but that falls on her - not the club. people need to take responsibility for their own shit.

i find it interesting that the driver isnt being sued...SHE drove, SHE was drunk, SHE killed the guy - why is SHE not at fault? it is a sad, tragic event, but it sounds to me like his family is just trying to profit from it.

[perns2002]

Originally posted by vicman

i agree with you all, but also we should realize that in light of recent things clubs and bars should now really focus on cleaning their act. if its over 21, then its over 21 no exceptions period.

obviously the US in the country of lawsuits. the womans family (who unfortunately died as a consequence of the accident) simply saw where she could make a quicker buck. the club should be held accountable for what goes on inside the establishment and who goes into the establishment. once the person leaves the facility, the clubs responsibility ends. of course the club has more $$$ than the kids family, so the womans family sued the club.

I agree.......... With you whole heartedly..............

[revaluation]

Originally posted by djbuster

the one time i went to dream,

You went to Dream.....ha, ha, you admitted it.

Well, the girl will probably plea to vehicular manslaughter and get 2 - 7 in pound-me-in-the-ass prison.....and see prolly about 18 months....

the civil suit, prolly won't mean much since, being 20, she prolly has no assests and is prolly not claimed by her parents....so sorry, no dough.

I don't buy the "give clubs a lesson" BS from the lawyer. There's a death and he knows he has a simpathetic plaintiff vs. big, bad club owner. They'll prolly settle for something just over 10mil and the family, if lucky, will get half of it.

[Guest jroo]

first off, isnt dream 18 and up??? its not the clubs fault unless the owner of the club was feeding her drinks all night. also, this next part is kinda sad.

"was so intoxicated that after leaving . . . she lost her sense of direction and believed that she was traveling the wrong way "

that happened to me once, but i was travelling the wrong way. wake up call anyone??

[vicman]

Dream became 21+ because of the same underage drinking problems.

what i just see being interesting is that the womans family sued the club and not the girls family, thats where i get the reasoning that they are trying to get some monetary gain from it all.

i'm sure as this case goes to court well find out if a fake id was involved, etc..all the nitty gritty that might eventually exhonerate the club, 'cos even though we know someplace do a terrible job checking id's, once you leave the club, the club should not be responsible for what happens.

u go to a club, get drunk, hook up with someone you met at the club then you realize it was mistake....you sue the club?

[Guest jroo]

it would have made more sense to sue the murder then have the murder's family sue the club, huh?

[vicman]

i wuold say

sue the car maker

sue the state for the roads

sue the education system

sue the club

sue the police 'cos they shouldve stopped the drunk driver sooner

sue the girls family

sue dmv for making id's easy to fake

sue manufacturer of the booze she drank at dream

:blown: :blown: :blown:

[cookiegirl]

Originally posted by vicman

i wuold say

sue the car maker

sue the state for the roads

sue the education system

sue the club

sue the police 'cos they shouldve stopped the drunk driver sooner

sue the girls family

sue dmv for making id's easy to fake

sue manufacturer of the booze she drank at dream

:blown: :blown: :blown:

don't forget:

the girls' friends who took her out to the club.

[revaluation]

Originally posted by cookiegirl

don't forget:

the girls' friends who took her out to the club.

And the guy in the corner who should have hit on her...

[Guest jroo]

and sue his best friend for not getting him to talk to her. then sue dez nutz i cant talk about this any more.

[funkyfreshdc]

i think barnes has the money to hire a good legal team but his club fucked up, if it actually was a 21+ night (it was a saturday) then having one underage customer in the club is reason enough for the ABC board to revoke their liquor license. i don't think the lawsuit will go through but i don't think Dream will get off without some kind of punishment.

[kurokuma]

As I read that article all I could think is how typical...

It's really a shame...this one girls stupidity will effect so many people. However, I wish so many people wouldn't get away with making these amazingly pedantic frivilous lawsuits.

Ouch...I stubbed my toe on the sidewalk...I should sue the city...

Fuck that...*grumble*

Hey...start smoking...it'll make you a millionare...

-Grizz

[cookiegirl]

Originally posted by kurokuma

Ouch...I stubbed my toe on the sidewalk...I should sue the city...

Fuck that...*grumble*

It's hilarious that you said that -- I was hanging out by the pool in front of the Capitol building last Saturday afternoon. A tourist was walking by, stumbled on the sidewalk, and fell down pretty hard. Some idiot with a camcorder said "Look at that! The sidewalk is uneven! I should talk to an attorney about this!" And he proceeded to videotape the .25 inch rise in the sidewalk from all different angles like he was freakin' Steven Spielberg or somethin'. . . .sheesh!

[tinybutterfli]

Apparently its become quite popular to hit police men/women with your car while underage & intoxicated. Hmmm... I saw this story this morning on the news - at first I thought they were talking about the Dream case (I was kind of surprised) but it turned out to be this story below:

Woman charged with hitting officer with car

By Jamie Satterfield, News-Sentinel staff writer

September 29, 2002

An Athens woman allegedly struck a Knoxville Police Department sergeant with her car early Saturday, sending the officer to the hospital and landing the woman in jail.

KPD Sgt. Lisa Green suffered injuries to her knee, back and head in the 3:12 a.m. incident, according to Lt. Greg Hoskins. She was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where she was treated and later released.

"She is obviously extremely sore," KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk said.

A car struck Green as she was walking across Cumberland Avenue at the 19th Street intersection, Hoskins said. The driver of the car, which was eastbound on Cumberland Avenue, allegedly ran a red light.

Hoskins and DeBusk said both the driver and the passenger, who owned the 1994 Chevrolet Corsica that struck Green, were intoxicated.

DeBusk identified the driver as Vickie Renee Johnson, 18, of Athens, and the owner of the car as Tabitha Conner, 24. DeBusk did not list Conner's address.

Hoskins said Johnson acknowledged consuming alcohol before the accident.

"She did advise the investigating officer she had been drinking," he said.

Johnson was later charged with driving while intoxicated and aggravated assault with a vehicle, DeBusk said. Conner was charged with driving while intoxicated by consent, an offense leveled against a vehicle owner who allows an intoxicated person to drive because the owner is too drunk to drive, he said.

At the time of the incident, Green was assigned to a special walking patrol set up along the Cumberland Avenue Strip as part of KPD's pre-game enforcement efforts, Hoskins said.

Debusk said Green will be out of work until a doctor releases her to return to active duty.

Saturday's incident marks the second time in recent years that a KPD officer has been seriously injured while assigned to handle game-related enforcement efforts.

Jamie Satterfield may be reached at 865-342-6308 or Satterfield@knews.com.

Copyright 2002, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.

Click for permission to reprint

[kurokuma]

Originally posted by cookiegirl

It's hilarious that you said that -- I was hanging out by the pool in front of the Capitol building last Saturday afternoon. A tourist was walking by, stumbled on the sidewalk, and fell down pretty hard. Some idiot with a camcorder said "Look at that! The sidewalk is uneven! I should talk to an attorney about this!" And he proceeded to videotape the .25 inch rise in the sidewalk from all different angles like he was freakin' Steven Spielberg or somethin'. . . .sheesh!

See...this is what I'm talkign about. IT's that kinda shit that makes people and busineses scared to make changes and do thing lest some idiot money grubber sues them cause they were breathing too loudly...*grumble*

Oh shit...your post was too long...it strained my brain reading it...maybe I'll sue...hehhehheh...

-Grizz

[Sapexec]

Dream sucks, Bad Karma. Nice Metel Detector when you walk in. The friday crowd looks like rejects from the old DC Live. And the women have mustaches and wear jeans.

I agree with everyone that she had a fake id, this club ID's everyone. Even R Kelly would have tough time getting one of his dates in.

Sucks to be her. She is an adult, this isnt some middle school dance. She knew right from wrong. See you in attica, ho.

[dragongrrrl]

My parents have owned a liquor store since i was 8, and made very clear to me that if they sold to someone who was underage, even if they were fooled with a fake ID, they'd be legally responsible (this is the reason i've never used a fake ID). Anyone with a liquor license knows this; this case doesn't set any precidence in that way. Not selling to people you shouldn't is a responsibility you take when you decide to sell alcohol. If the club couldn't effectively card and monitor the drinking in their club, then they *are* partially responsible for what happened. Cearly, the girl is as well, but you can't *not* fault the club for not doing it's job, too.