Adkins v. Uncle Bart's, Inc.
| Decision Date | 18 January 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 970261.,970261. |
| Citation | 2000 UT 14,1 P.3d 528 |
| Parties | Michael L. ADKINS and Roberta B. Adkins, Plaintiffs, Appellants, and Cross-Appellees, v. UNCLE BART'S, INC. dba Uncle Bart's Club, and Charley's Club, Inc. dba Charley's Club, Defendants, Appellees, and Cross-Appellants, and Club Management, Inc., James D. Mickelson, Douglas J. Mickelson, Jeannie B. Mickelson, Marlene M. Mickelson, Judy Duke, and Tracy Duke, Defendants and Appellees. |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
Edward M. Garrett, James D. Garrett, Salt Lake City, for Adkins.
Donald J. Purser, Darci Dow, Salt Lake City, for Uncle Bart's, Inc.
Mark L. Anderson, Salt Lake City, for Charley's Club, Inc., Mickelsons, and Dukes.
Stuart W. Hinckley, David W. Scofield, Salt Lake City, for amicus curiae Utah Licensed Beverage Association and Utah Hospitality Association. HOWE, Chief Justice:
INTRODUCTION
¶ 1 Plaintiffs Michael L. Adkins and Roberta A. Adkins appeal from a judgment entered by the trial court after the court reduced the amount of damages awarded them by a jury in accordance with the Utah Dramshop Act, Utah Code Ann. § 32A-14-101 (1994). Defendants Uncle Bart's, Inc., d/b/a Uncle Bart's Club, and Charley's Club, Inc., cross-appeal contending that plaintiffs have no cause of action against them under the Dramshop Act.
¶ 2 On March 1, 1994, seventeen-year-old Sean Adkins was one of seven teenage boys riding in a seven-passenger station wagon being driven by Scott Buchanan. The boys, all students at Highland High School in Salt Lake City, were traveling to Bountiful, Utah, to watch their school basketball team play in a tournament. They left Highland High School at approximately 6:45 p.m. and headed west on Interstate 80 through South Salt Lake City. As they approached the junction of Interstate 80 with northbound Interstate 15, one of the tires on the vehicle went flat. Buchanan drove to the northbound Interstate 15 "collector" route and parked the vehicle on the road's margin/emergency lane.
¶ 3 After the vehicle stopped, several of the boys stayed in the car to keep the brake lights on, but others, including Sean, gathered behind the disabled vehicle. Near this same time, a vehicle driven by defendant Paul Bredehoft entered the collector route and traveled north on the road's margin/emergency lane at an estimated speed of 60 to 65 miles per hour. Bredehoft did not reduce his speed and collided with the disabled Buchanan vehicle. Immediately prior to the impact, three of the boys who had been standing behind the Buchanan vehicle leaped over the side guardrail to safety. However, Sean, who had been standing closer to the lane of travel than the others, was struck by the Bredehoft vehicle and killed.
¶ 4 Bredehoft was arrested at the scene. Toxicology reports showed that at the time of the accident his blood alcohol percentage was.27 percent, more than three times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle. See Utah Code Ann. § 41-6-44(1)(a)(i) (1994).1 Facts gathered following the accident established that in the two-and-one-half-hour period prior to colliding with the Buchanan vehicle, Bredehoft had consumed approximately 18 to 24 ounces of alcohol while patronizing Uncle Bart's Club, Charley's Club, and Ann Sistties's The Clubhouse,2 three private drinking establishments.
¶ 5 Under a theory of wrongful death, the plaintiffs, Sean's parents, brought this action against Uncle Bart's Club and Charley's Club (together the "dramshop defendants"), Ann Sisttie (dba the Clubhouse), Club Management, Inc.,3 and Paul Bredehoft. The plaintiffs contended that the dramshop defendants, Ann Sisttie, and Club Management were vicariously responsible for their son's death because they provided Bredehoft with alcohol after he was legally inebriated. The plaintiffs also named James D. Mickelson, Douglas J. Mickelson, Jeannie B. Mickelson, Marlene M. Mickelson, Judy Duke, and Tracy Duke (collectively, the "dramshop owners") as defendants. The complaint alleged that the dramshop owners were personally liable for selling liquor to Bredehoft and as the alter egos of the dramshop corporations.
¶ 6 During pretrial proceedings, the dramshop defendants, Ann Sisttie, Club Management, and the dramshop owners moved for summary judgment on several grounds. The dramshop owners and Club Management contended that under Utah law they were not personally liable for the acts of the dramshops that were Utah corporations. The dramshop defendants asked the court to rule that the Dramshop Act provided plaintiffs their exclusive remedy against them, that under the Dramshop Act punitive damages could not be awarded, and that any damages awarded plaintiffs could not exceed the $100,000 cap set forth in the Dramshop Act. The trial court granted the motions of the dramshop owners and Club Management and dismissed the plaintiffs' complaints against them. The trial court then ruled that the Dramshop Act provided plaintiffs' exclusive remedy against the dramshop defendants and Ann Sisttie, and it dismissed plaintiffs' claim under the Utah Liquor Control Act and their claim of common law negligence. The court also ruled that punitive damages were not prohibited by the Dramshop Act but reserved its ruling on capping damages.
¶ 7 Thereafter, a jury trial was held with Bredehoft, Uncle Bart's Club, Charley's Club, and Ann Sisttie as defendants. The jury returned a verdict against Bredehoft, Uncle Bart's Club, and Charley's Club, but found no cause of action existed against Ann Sisttie. The jury awarded damages in favor of plaintiffs and against Bredehoft and the dramshop defendants in the amounts of $7,725.73 for special damages and $1,000,000 for general damages. The jury also returned a separate verdict awarding the plaintiffs punitive damages in the amount of $500,000 against Bredehoft, $250,000 against Uncle Bart's Club, and $100,000 against Charley's Club.
¶ 8 Following the verdict, the trial court ruled that the Dramshop Act's damage cap was constitutional and required a reduction of damages against the dramshop defendants. The court relied on that portion of the Act that reads: "The total amount of damages that may be awarded to any person pursuant to a cause of action under this chapter that arises after July 1, 1985, is limited to $100,000 and the aggregate amount which may be awarded to all persons injured as a result of one occurrence is limited to $300,000." Utah Code Ann. § 32A-14-101(5) (1994).4
¶ 9 In an attempt to follow the Dramshop Act's limitation on damages, the trial court reduced the jury award and entered a judgment of $200,000 each against Uncle Bart's Club and Charley's Club—or a judgment in favor of each plaintiff in the amount of $100,000 against each dramshop defendant for special and compensatory damages. The court then ruled that an award of punitive damages would not be subject to the Dramshop Act's limitation on damages and awarded the plaintiffs $250,000 in punitive damages against Uncle Bart's Club and $100,000 in punitive damages against Uncle Charley's Club. Finally, the court entered judgment against Bredehoft in the amount of $1,507,725.73, representing the full jury award of $7,725.73 in special damages, $500,000 in punitive damages, and $1,000,000 in general damages.
¶ 10 Plaintiffs appeal contending that the trial court erred by (1) ruling that the Dramshop Act provided the exclusive remedy for their son's death, (2) dismissing their claim brought under the Liquor Control Act, (3) dismissing their claim alleging common law negligence, and (4) reducing the jury's award of damages. The dramshop defendants cross-appeal contending the plaintiffs do not have a cause of action against them under the Dramshop Act and that the court erred by not dismissing plaintiffs' complaint against them. Bredehoft does not appeal.
¶ 11 When reviewing statutory interpretation, we review for correctness and give no deference to the conclusions of the trial court. See Stephens v. Bonneville Travel, Inc., 935 P.2d 518, 519 (Utah 1997).
¶ 12 The plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred when it dismissed their claim alleging common law negligence and their claim brought under the Liquor Control Act, and by ruling that the Dramshop Act provided their exclusive remedy against the dramshop defendants. To determine whether the trial court erred, we first analyze whether the plaintiffs had a cause of action for negligence against the dramshop defendants at common law. We will then determine whether they have a cause of action under the Liquor Control Act. If they could have recovered against the dramshop defendants under either or both of these theories prior to the enactment of the Dramshop Act in 1981, we must then determine whether the trial court properly ruled that the Act preempted those causes of action and now serves as the plaintiffs' exclusive remedy.
¶ 13 At common law, third parties did not generally have a cause of action against dramshops that provided alcohol to another who became intoxicated and caused personal injury. See 45 Am.Jur.2d Intoxicating Liquors § 502 (1999); see also Annotation, Right of Action at Common Law for Damage Sustained by Plaintiff in Consequence of Sale or Gift of Intoxicating Liquor or Habitforming Drugs to Another, 97 A.L.R.3d 528 (1980). The legal theory behind the general rule is that when a third party is injured by an inebriated individual, it is the drinking of the alcohol, not the furnishing of it, which proximately causes the injury. See Yost v. State, 640 P.2d 1044, 1046 n.2 (Utah 1981).
¶ 14 A few courts have held that the selling of liquor to a visibly intoxicated person may be found by a jury to constitute a foreseeable unreasonable risk of harm to others through action of the intoxicated person and that such negligence cannot be held as a matter of law not to be a proximate cause of resulting injuries. See,...
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Article Title: Utah Supreme Court Review 2000
...case involves. Utah Supreme Court Review 2000 By Justice Michael J. Wilkins, Utah Supreme Court 1.Dramshop Adkins v. Uncle Bart's, Inc., 2000 UT 14, 11 P.3d 528. Three different establishments were sued by the parents of a child killed by a driver who was served alcohol in all three. The su......
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Case Summaries
...vendors of alcohol? Although a majority of the Court concluded that such cause of action did not exist in Adkins v. Uncle Bart's Inc., 2000 UT 14 (2000), she believes two cases decided before the enactment of the Dramshop Act indicate that a third-party common law cause of action against co......