Patron Struck By Car Near Outdoor Cafe After Drinking There
On Aug. 25, 2003, plaintiff Stuart Denyer, 25, a commodities broker, joined friends at Beach Bums, a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale on Route A1A, which is officially known as 219 South Atlantic Blvd. Inc.Denyer and friends were seated at the outdoor sidewalk café, unaware that the restaurant did not have a permit to serve on the sidewalk. They were served alcohol by “shooters,” girls dressed as cowgirls who went around with bottles of alcohol strapped to their hips, pouring shots of alcohol directly into patrons’ mouths.A crowd gathered around the sidewalk. To get through the crowd, Denyer, who had consumed beer and shots from the shooters, walked toward the curb. He claimed that he was elbowed into the street and struck by a passing car. His head cracked the windshield. For several hours it was uncertain if he would live. At the hospital, a doctor found his blood-alcohol content was .21%.
Denyer sued Beach Bums and the property owner, Swiss Beach Holdings, Inc., on a premises liability theory. Swiss Beach Holdings was later dropped from the suit.
By not seeking a permit from the city of Fort Lauderdale before operating an outdoor sidewalk cafe and by violating a Florida statute precluding curbside service of alcoholic beverages, Denyer alleged that Beach Bums was the proximate cause of the accident and his injuries.
Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Beach Bums failed to ensure customers’ safety. Security expert Robert Lacey testified that the restaurant should have cordoned off the area or employed security personnel to be sure that no customers wandered into the road.
“If you serve alcohol beside a highway it was foreseeable that somebody would go into the road,” counsel later said in an interview. “They needed to create a buffer between the street and the sidewalk. It was extremely crowded, and crowd control was necessary.”
Beach Bums denied liability. Defense counsel argued that Denyer was comparatively negligent, arguing his intoxicated state caused him to wander into the street. One witness testified that Denyer skipped out into the street. Based on the report of a homicide investigator, the defense argued that Denyer was several steps into the street and had time to avoid the oncoming car.
Defense counsel contended that If Denyer’s intoxication was the proximate cause of the accident, and if Denyer was more than 50% at fault for his intoxication, then Beach Bums could not be held liable for the accident.
Stuart Denyer was rushed to Broward Hospital, where he remained for one week. His right leg was broken, his jaw had been fractured in three places, his teeth were knocked out and he had a fractured skull, orbit and cheekbone. Doctors installed two titanium rods and hardware in the right leg. Denyer later underwent several facial surgeries and physical therapy. He claimed scarring and disfigurement, stitches to the head and loss of bone.
Prior to the accident, Denyer had been a semi-professional rugby player and a commodities broker. He’ll never play rugby again. He claimed loss of enjoyment, pain and suffering, and a year of lost wages between $35,000 and $40,000. He claimed past medical expenses of $190,000 plus future medicals.
The trial was bifurcated and did not reach the damages portion.
The jury found that the negligence of Beach Bums was a legal cause of injury to Stuart Denyer. The jury found Denyer 65% negligent and Beach Bums 35% negligent. “The blood-alcohol level posed some challenges, but the jury understood the issues,” attorney David Shenkman later said. “It’s their city, and I don’t think they appreciated the shooters out there on the sidewalk.”The parties then settled for $750,000 before the damages portion of the trial.