Ewing v. Cloverleaf Bowl

Opinion

TOBRINER, J.

In this case, an experienced bartender, knowing that a patron had just turned 21 years of age that very day, served his young customer 10 straight shots of 151 proof rum, as well as a vodka coffins and 2 beer chasers, during a period of less than an hour and a half; as a result, the 21-year-old patron died the next day, leaving 2 small children on whose behalf the instant wrongful death action was brought.

Faced with these undisputed facts, the trial court granted defendant’s motion for nonsuit, finding as a matter of law, that the patron’s conduct amounted to contributory…