Christen v. Lee

Andersen, J.—

Facts of Cases

These two consolidated cases concern the liability of a public drinking establishment for a criminal assault committed by one of its patrons. In neither case is the liability of the party who consumed the alcohol and committed the assault in issue.

Christen v. Lee

Robert S. Christen arrived at the bar of the South China Doll Restaurant (China Doll) close to midnight in the evening of October 26,1984. Christen drank at the bar until it closed approximately 2 hours later. He testified that when the bar was closing, he left the bar area to use the restroom in the lobby…