From WBIR-TV:
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit against a gas station filed by two victims of drunken driving.
The court ruled Gary West and Michell Richardson could sue East Tennessee Pioneer Oil Company for negligence.
An investigation concluded that employees of a Knoxville Exxon station operated by Pioneer refused to sell Brian Lee Tarver beer because he was intoxicated, but helped him pump fuel into his car.
Police say Tarver left the station with his lights off, driving in the wrong lane and crashed head-on into the car carrying West and Richardson in July, 2000.
A Knox County court had dismissed the suit, ruling neither the company nor its employees controlled Tarver's actions.
The appeals court ruled what the station employees "set into a motion a force involving an unreasonable risk of harm to others."
Matt's Chat
Who here thinks this is just the kind of lawsuit that Little Johnny Sunshine would take? Just asking...I'm no lawyer, but I am a personal responsibility guy, so my take on this is that the Court of Appeals is wrong. Your mileage may vary.
I don't see anything on this yet, but expect that Bill Hobbs would have an opinion...
