An appeals court in Ohio has ruled that a strip club may not be held legally responsible for the severe injuries suffered by a third party when one of its dancers drove home from work intoxicated.
Customers at the club routinely purchase drinks for the dancers, who are allowed to drink alcohol while on-the-clock. One of the dancers apparently drank too much before getting into her vehicle to drive home after her shift. She crashed her car on the way back, causing severe injuries to another woman.
At trial, jurors overseeing the dram shop act case held the club liable to pay $1.43 million of a $2.85 million damage award for the injured woman. However, the Second District Court of Appeal reversed, finding in Johnson v. Montgomery that the state’s dram shop law is not applicable to the employee in this case. That’s because Ohio’s dram shop law only allows an alcohol vendor to be held liable for injuries caused after service of alcohol to either a minor or someone who is visibly intoxicated. The trial court should have accepted the strip club’s request for a directed verdict before the case went to the jury. Continue reading