Quote No. 1: For years, Bhoge and the three defendants met regularly on Fridays after work for drinks at nearby taverns.
Quote No. 2: About 45 minutes after Bhoge left the bar, the defendants departed. Two of them observed Bhoge seated in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, but allegedly did not notice anything unusual in his demeanor.
Quote No. 3: A third defendant then came out carrying Bhoge’s coat, opened the passenger door of Bhoge’s vehicle to give the coat to him, asked if he was okay, and received an affirmative response.
No, Your Honor, his demeanor weren’t unusual. He was plastered just like ever Friday night fer the last bunch o years. He were always leavin his coat in the bar and we knew that 45 minutes later we could bring it out to him. And he was really affirmative that it was his coat, which he’d had for as many years as he could remember.
You’ve got to be kidding, Feller – I hope you are being facetious. This is my BIGGEST pet peeve – when, oh when will people realize that they themselves only are to blame for their own intoxication and stupidity. When will people start taking responsibility for their own actions? Why is it always someone else’s fault? We’ve gone soft in our court system and I’m sure glad the Mass. court saw it that way – well, sort of……
Definitely facetious and thanks for asking. I just found it odd that his friends would accept his behavior that night as being normal – and wondered what ABNORMAL would look like, if this was the Friday Nite standard.
I sure would feel bad if it was one of my friends heading off that evening into Oblivion. Other than an extra trip to the confessional and perhaps a fair amount of self-assumed guilt, I’m not sure what legal responsibility I would be faced with. Social responsibility cannot always be adjudicated.
FSOlInsuranceLady is right on point. People need to take personal responsibility. Thanks to permissive parents, plaintiff attorneys, and courts with no backbone, this concept has eroded and has all but disappeared in this country. If someone doesn’t care enough to protect themselves, nobody else should have a higher duty to save them from their own stupidity. I think it’s part of the “natural selection process”. Sooner or later, these idiots will eliminate themselves. Hopefully only themselves.
Right-on, Claims Guy. But you know, Bud has a good point from a MORAL standpoint.
I myself would feel awful should I let someone I know and love get behind the wheel of a car plasterd out of his mind – and something happens. Talk about guilt, guilt, guilt…..You know, I noticed that there was no mention of the bar that continued to serve him drinks while he was intoxicated. After all, they are the ones pouring and they are the ones profiting……..
Bhoge (the drunk driver) admitted he was drunk without pointing any fingers.
The guy he hit is the one suing everybody in hopes of getting somebody to pay up. I feel sorry for him,(he is the innocent bystander that tends to get hurt when a drunk gets behind the wheel), but suing his drinking buddies sounds like a lawyer that is REALLY reaching.
Guessing that Bhoge either doesn’t have insurance, doesn’t have enough, or maybe was declined due to intoxication? Wonder if the guy he hit sued the bar, too?
I’m betting the bar paid out- or will.
Thanks for the clarification Dawn as I noticed some people missed that point. The pltf and his atty really tried to stretch their claims. Glad to see a judge with a backbone quash this allegation right away.
SFOInsurance Lady rightfully asks about personal responsibility, but how long has she been in insurance? Long enough to know that people shirk that responsiblity because the insurance company will pay for it. I’m sure these people’s arms & shoulders hurt from pointing the finger at someone else!
Here is the salient point….”they owed the plaintiff no duty….” …to do anything except maybe after the filing of this suit, they should have choked the living s**t out of some idiot who needed it….imagine trying to blame this on your friends, as if he would be cooperative had they even TRIED to stop him from taking another drink or leave or drive or do any other indepedent behavior of his own accord…..
thanks for pointing that out, that it is the attorney for the injured, not the drunk driver, who is trying to find another responsible party and you are correct that the tortfeasor, the drunk driver, probably has no assets or other pockets, deep or otherwise, from which to draw the money that they hope to get…
The plaintiff was the victim in the accident, NOT the drunk. The drunk didn’t blame anyone. The victim is looking for someone with deep pockets. My guess is the bar was sued, too.
Basically, the suit was thrown out because the friends didn’t have the ‘authority’ to control his intake of alcohol. So if a friend leaves my house and hits someone, does that mean who they hit can sue ME? Even if the friend doesn’t hold me responsible for their stupidity- can a court hold me liable for it?
Now I’m wondering if the next party I throw could cost me my house. My friends wouldn’t sue me because they were stupid, but if they hit someone else on the way home, that someone could own my house?
I would say that when you serve drinks to a friend at your house, then you certainly have a legal (forget about ethical or moral issue) responsibility to make sure that they are under control when they leave. It’s called Host Liquor Liability, and I believe normally covered under a Homeowners policy. No different than a bar exposure (other than the fact that your friends don’t normally pay for the refreshments).
And putting aside the actual adjudication results, you would certainly incur defense costs in averting the blame.
A moral issue has nothing to do with friends showing up with coolers in the back of their trucks. I can’t control what they drink before, during, or after. Most of the time I don’t even look in their coolers to see how much they have/had. Nor do I expect them to look in my cooler to ‘oversee’ how much I’m drinking.
We can’t throw parties where we ‘serve’ – too expensive. LOL. Usually it’s a ‘where are we meeting this week’. Everybody brings their own and the cost stays down. Of course, I’m rethinking that now…………
These type of horror stories are in the news every single day. Alcohol kills and ruins lives. We should ban alcohol in this country as we obviously don’t know when to say when! Since it’s not logical to ban we should at least throw people in jail for 30 years for a first alcohol related driving offense. An insurance policy should not pay for this type of criminal activity.
Interesting but flawed idea. The government tried Prohibition and it didn’t work. More people made liquor at home than ever before (or since) and bars sold everything from cleaning fluid to rat poison under label of liquor.
And the Seagrams and Kennedys and others made brazilians of dollars getting the product to the buyer.
The law allows an individual the ability to screw up but it cannot stop criminal activity from occurring.
Frankly I’d like to get my Aunt arrested for serving me too much turkey at Thanksgiving. All that dopamine (??) in the turkey nearly made me fall asleep at the wheel on the way home. My fault, hers, or the birds?
there was another article on here not too long ago…some rugby players at a university had a house party and one of the minors drank, left the party, fell into a creek and died (er something like that). the parents successfully sued the two men who lived in the house (who were both of age) for serving their minor son and letting him leave the party so drunk…
Not trying to prove a point, just letting you know…it’s out there!!
I think anymore, it’s not what is right and what is wrong…it’s what you can get a jury to empathize with. if they can see themselves in the person seeking damages, then BAM, that person has more than likely hit the jackpot. (kind of like the hot coffee mcdonalds law suit…frivolous to most, but how many people would like several million for burning themselves on hot coffee…)
Dawn, you are, indeed, the “host” even if you do not check out everyones coolers. If your friend consume some more alcohol at your house, you can become responsible for letting them leave when the “prudent” person would not have. Make ’em stay the night & party on!
Banning alcohol is an extremely naive idea, another extremely naive idea is to develop urban infrastructure so that it is unnecessary to drive to and from everything. I’m sure a subway, train, or bus full of drunks would be a horrendous experience, but at least it takes those people off the streets, takes the control out of their hands, and makes it harder for them to cause damage creating more liability for themselves simultaneously making others aware of how embarrassing they may look drunk in public. Insurers can start marketing pedestrian liability insurance with a Hazardous Alcohol Personal Pedestrian Insurance LiabilitY surcharge(or the HAPPILY surcharge) for those with previous alcohol related offenses.
It’s clear drinking is not going away, maybe it’s time to reduce the driving instead. If only there were more incentives to drive less, you know, other than possibly reducing death (alcohol related or not), CO2 emissions, excessive urbanization, and annoying people complaining about construction.
I know there are mechanisms that can be conected to a car, which will disable the car if the driver’s breath has alcoholic vapors. I’m sure there are ways around it, but the devices are used in some jurisdictions following a DUI.
Maybe a retinal scan that can pick up bloodshot eyes, or a keypad that requires a multiple test pop quiz (testing for too many pops, that is), or a dashboard that has holographic pink elephants would keep drivers off the road.
(but i agree, i live in omaha and i think people would rather blow themselves up in their Hummer’s than take a bus or cab home after a night of drinking. and even if someone didn’t want to drive back and forth to work, good luck finding many places to live or work that are on bus lines.)
If you’re having parties at your home, let people know before they arrive that you will be collectin all the car keys and no one leaves under the influence. Do it while they’re sober and not belligerently drunk. Once you have the tradition established, it will be an expectation at your house that no one will argue with.
Quote No. 1: For years, Bhoge and the three defendants met regularly on Fridays after work for drinks at nearby taverns.
Quote No. 2: About 45 minutes after Bhoge left the bar, the defendants departed. Two of them observed Bhoge seated in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, but allegedly did not notice anything unusual in his demeanor.
Quote No. 3: A third defendant then came out carrying Bhoge’s coat, opened the passenger door of Bhoge’s vehicle to give the coat to him, asked if he was okay, and received an affirmative response.
No, Your Honor, his demeanor weren’t unusual. He was plastered just like ever Friday night fer the last bunch o years. He were always leavin his coat in the bar and we knew that 45 minutes later we could bring it out to him. And he was really affirmative that it was his coat, which he’d had for as many years as he could remember.
You’ve got to be kidding, Feller – I hope you are being facetious. This is my BIGGEST pet peeve – when, oh when will people realize that they themselves only are to blame for their own intoxication and stupidity. When will people start taking responsibility for their own actions? Why is it always someone else’s fault? We’ve gone soft in our court system and I’m sure glad the Mass. court saw it that way – well, sort of……
Definitely facetious and thanks for asking. I just found it odd that his friends would accept his behavior that night as being normal – and wondered what ABNORMAL would look like, if this was the Friday Nite standard.
I sure would feel bad if it was one of my friends heading off that evening into Oblivion. Other than an extra trip to the confessional and perhaps a fair amount of self-assumed guilt, I’m not sure what legal responsibility I would be faced with. Social responsibility cannot always be adjudicated.
FSOlInsuranceLady is right on point. People need to take personal responsibility. Thanks to permissive parents, plaintiff attorneys, and courts with no backbone, this concept has eroded and has all but disappeared in this country. If someone doesn’t care enough to protect themselves, nobody else should have a higher duty to save them from their own stupidity. I think it’s part of the “natural selection process”. Sooner or later, these idiots will eliminate themselves. Hopefully only themselves.
Right-on, Claims Guy. But you know, Bud has a good point from a MORAL standpoint.
I myself would feel awful should I let someone I know and love get behind the wheel of a car plasterd out of his mind – and something happens. Talk about guilt, guilt, guilt…..You know, I noticed that there was no mention of the bar that continued to serve him drinks while he was intoxicated. After all, they are the ones pouring and they are the ones profiting……..
Bhoge (the drunk driver) admitted he was drunk without pointing any fingers.
The guy he hit is the one suing everybody in hopes of getting somebody to pay up. I feel sorry for him,(he is the innocent bystander that tends to get hurt when a drunk gets behind the wheel), but suing his drinking buddies sounds like a lawyer that is REALLY reaching.
Guessing that Bhoge either doesn’t have insurance, doesn’t have enough, or maybe was declined due to intoxication? Wonder if the guy he hit sued the bar, too?
I’m betting the bar paid out- or will.
Thanks for the clarification Dawn as I noticed some people missed that point. The pltf and his atty really tried to stretch their claims. Glad to see a judge with a backbone quash this allegation right away.
SFOInsurance Lady rightfully asks about personal responsibility, but how long has she been in insurance? Long enough to know that people shirk that responsiblity because the insurance company will pay for it. I’m sure these people’s arms & shoulders hurt from pointing the finger at someone else!
Here is the salient point….”they owed the plaintiff no duty….” …to do anything except maybe after the filing of this suit, they should have choked the living s**t out of some idiot who needed it….imagine trying to blame this on your friends, as if he would be cooperative had they even TRIED to stop him from taking another drink or leave or drive or do any other indepedent behavior of his own accord…..
thanks for pointing that out, that it is the attorney for the injured, not the drunk driver, who is trying to find another responsible party and you are correct that the tortfeasor, the drunk driver, probably has no assets or other pockets, deep or otherwise, from which to draw the money that they hope to get…
The plaintiff was the victim in the accident, NOT the drunk. The drunk didn’t blame anyone. The victim is looking for someone with deep pockets. My guess is the bar was sued, too.
Basically, the suit was thrown out because the friends didn’t have the ‘authority’ to control his intake of alcohol. So if a friend leaves my house and hits someone, does that mean who they hit can sue ME? Even if the friend doesn’t hold me responsible for their stupidity- can a court hold me liable for it?
You posted the same time I did. LOL.
Now I’m wondering if the next party I throw could cost me my house. My friends wouldn’t sue me because they were stupid, but if they hit someone else on the way home, that someone could own my house?
I would say that when you serve drinks to a friend at your house, then you certainly have a legal (forget about ethical or moral issue) responsibility to make sure that they are under control when they leave. It’s called Host Liquor Liability, and I believe normally covered under a Homeowners policy. No different than a bar exposure (other than the fact that your friends don’t normally pay for the refreshments).
And putting aside the actual adjudication results, you would certainly incur defense costs in averting the blame.
Life used to be simpler.
A moral issue has nothing to do with friends showing up with coolers in the back of their trucks. I can’t control what they drink before, during, or after. Most of the time I don’t even look in their coolers to see how much they have/had. Nor do I expect them to look in my cooler to ‘oversee’ how much I’m drinking.
We can’t throw parties where we ‘serve’ – too expensive. LOL. Usually it’s a ‘where are we meeting this week’. Everybody brings their own and the cost stays down. Of course, I’m rethinking that now…………
These type of horror stories are in the news every single day. Alcohol kills and ruins lives. We should ban alcohol in this country as we obviously don’t know when to say when! Since it’s not logical to ban we should at least throw people in jail for 30 years for a first alcohol related driving offense. An insurance policy should not pay for this type of criminal activity.
Interesting but flawed idea. The government tried Prohibition and it didn’t work. More people made liquor at home than ever before (or since) and bars sold everything from cleaning fluid to rat poison under label of liquor.
And the Seagrams and Kennedys and others made brazilians of dollars getting the product to the buyer.
The law allows an individual the ability to screw up but it cannot stop criminal activity from occurring.
Frankly I’d like to get my Aunt arrested for serving me too much turkey at Thanksgiving. All that dopamine (??) in the turkey nearly made me fall asleep at the wheel on the way home. My fault, hers, or the birds?
You’re cracking me up!! :)
there was another article on here not too long ago…some rugby players at a university had a house party and one of the minors drank, left the party, fell into a creek and died (er something like that). the parents successfully sued the two men who lived in the house (who were both of age) for serving their minor son and letting him leave the party so drunk…
Not trying to prove a point, just letting you know…it’s out there!!
I think anymore, it’s not what is right and what is wrong…it’s what you can get a jury to empathize with. if they can see themselves in the person seeking damages, then BAM, that person has more than likely hit the jackpot. (kind of like the hot coffee mcdonalds law suit…frivolous to most, but how many people would like several million for burning themselves on hot coffee…)
Dawn, you are, indeed, the “host” even if you do not check out everyones coolers. If your friend consume some more alcohol at your house, you can become responsible for letting them leave when the “prudent” person would not have. Make ’em stay the night & party on!
If they’d give me a few million I’d take a shower in hot coffee!
I guess stupid pays these days.
On the other hand, I can be stupid- where’s my check?
Can you tell I’m SO ready for the holiday?
Just make sure you don’t let your friends drink and play with fireworks tomorrow.
Imagine how your jury will look at your defense.
Banning alcohol is an extremely naive idea, another extremely naive idea is to develop urban infrastructure so that it is unnecessary to drive to and from everything. I’m sure a subway, train, or bus full of drunks would be a horrendous experience, but at least it takes those people off the streets, takes the control out of their hands, and makes it harder for them to cause damage creating more liability for themselves simultaneously making others aware of how embarrassing they may look drunk in public. Insurers can start marketing pedestrian liability insurance with a Hazardous Alcohol Personal Pedestrian Insurance LiabilitY surcharge(or the HAPPILY surcharge) for those with previous alcohol related offenses.
It’s clear drinking is not going away, maybe it’s time to reduce the driving instead. If only there were more incentives to drive less, you know, other than possibly reducing death (alcohol related or not), CO2 emissions, excessive urbanization, and annoying people complaining about construction.
I know there are mechanisms that can be conected to a car, which will disable the car if the driver’s breath has alcoholic vapors. I’m sure there are ways around it, but the devices are used in some jurisdictions following a DUI.
Maybe a retinal scan that can pick up bloodshot eyes, or a keypad that requires a multiple test pop quiz (testing for too many pops, that is), or a dashboard that has holographic pink elephants would keep drivers off the road.
C – you’re using too much common sense.
;-)
that won’t work here or anywhere else in america.
(but i agree, i live in omaha and i think people would rather blow themselves up in their Hummer’s than take a bus or cab home after a night of drinking. and even if someone didn’t want to drive back and forth to work, good luck finding many places to live or work that are on bus lines.)
related offense?
Surely you jest, former drunk!
If you’re having parties at your home, let people know before they arrive that you will be collectin all the car keys and no one leaves under the influence. Do it while they’re sober and not belligerently drunk. Once you have the tradition established, it will be an expectation at your house that no one will argue with.