In Massachusetts, a Superior Court of Essex County jury has ordered the 99 Restaurants of Boston and Haverhill resident David Kvinlaug to pay a woman of Quincy $5 million dollars for personal injury related to a drunk driving accident. In 2003, Laurie Clifford lost her arm in the accident. Kvinlaug was driving the car that Clifford was also riding in, and then plead guilty to driving under the influence, which led to serving 90 days in jail.
On May 18, 2003, residing bartenders at the 99 Restaurant & Pub in North Andover reportedly served Kvinlaug, who also worked at the restaurant as a line cook. David Kvinlaug was off-duty at the time, and consumed the equivalent of 11 12-ounce beers under a 2 hour period of time. He was 32-years-old at the time and reportedly had a few more drinks at a party before driving his vehicle into a school bus that was parked on Chadwick Street.
Clifford and another unmentioned passenger were in the car when the accident happened. Clifford’s arm, which was almost severed in the catastrophic accident, had to be amputated following 30 excruciating surgeries to try repairing her arm.
The 99 Restaurant chain had argued that the 33-year-old woman was partially at fault for her injuries because she was aware of Kvinlaug’s intoxication when she got in the car with him. While the jury acknowledged that Clifford acted negligently when she got into the car with a drunk driver, they found that the restaurant chain was five times more negligent because it served Kvinlaug too much alcohol.
Last week the Essex Superior Court jury ordered 99 Restaurants and Kvinlaug to pay $3.2 million in damages plus an additional $1.8 million in interest. Judge Frances McIntyre, however, ordered that Geno Barone, the person who hosted the party that Kvinlaug and Clifford attended, would not have to pay Clifford damages.
The exclusive purpose of this article is educational and it is not intended as either legal advice or a general solution to any specific legal problem. Corporate offices for Nave DWI Defense Attorneys are located at 432 N. Franklin Street, Suite 80, Syracuse, NY 13204; Telephone No.: 1-866-792-7800. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising.
