Family wins $21 million in suit

[White_Chocolate]

DUI suit settled for $21 million
Man in crash that killed 3 drank at T.G.I. Friday's
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By GREGORY A. HALL
ghall@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Andrew Cory Stauble and Jamie Parsley had been dating for nearly a year when they died in the crash.

The company that owns the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant that served alcohol to a Prospect man before he drove his truck into a car carrying two 16-year-old sweethearts — killing all three — has paid $21 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the teens' parents.

The agreement is one of the largest reported settlements or damage awards in the country in cases against establishments that serve d alcohol to customers who later injured or killed others.

In addition to the money, Ohio Valley Bistros Inc., which operates the Lime Kiln Lane restaurant where Mark Eberenz was drinking over the course of eight hours, agreed to other stipulations dealing with alcohol and illegal gambling at that operation.

The company agreed to post signs at the restaurant noting its right to refuse alcohol to impaired people and offering free cab rides; to hold quarterly staff meetings on how to monitor customers' drinking; to put the names of bar patrons on order tickets whenever possible; and to modify its employee application form to inquire about alcohol-related convictions. The firm also agreed at its Lime Kiln Lane restaurant to remove anyone suspected of illegal gambling and to unsubscribe to a horse-racing television network.

In a statement released yesterday, Ohio Valley Bistro s said, "The accident was a terrible tragedy for the victims and their families, and our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve for their loved ones.

"The settlement of this case was a business decision and should not be construed as an admission of responsibility on behalf of our restaurant or its employees. We have been and will continue to be a good corporate citizen that adheres the highest standards and practices."

Unlike many settlements in civil cases, confidentiality is not part of the deal — a condition set by the parents of the teenagers, Andrew Cory Stauble and Jamie Parsley.

In an interview, all four parents said they want the settlement to be a public notice to restaurants and bars that they must take steps to ensure they don't let drunk customers drive.

"We want to make the community a better place for anyone, to save a life," said Jamie's father, Archie Parsley . "I don't think we want anyone to have to go through what we've been through during the last 11 months. Pure hell."

A fiery crash

On July 9, 2002, a pickup truck driven by Eberenz, 42, a home builder, crossed the median of the Snyder Freeway, striking a southbound car driven by Jamie Parsley; Cory Stauble was her passenger. Both vehicles burned, and all three died at the scene.

Eberenz's blood-alcohol level was 0 .254 percent , more than three times the standard of 0 .08 at which Kentucky law presumes a driver to be drunk.

"We just feel that we owe it to the memory of the kids to make some difference in the community," said Cory's mother, Karla Stauble . "Our kids were going to do great things."

The teens, who had been dating for almost a year, had numerous accomplishments.

Jamie had a 4.2 grade-point average, according to her last report card from Kentucky Country Day School . Cory, who would be entering his senior year at Manual High School, was posthumously inducted into the National Honor Society. Both were active in sports and Cory was ranked sixth in the nation as a fencer in his age group.

According to their parents, they even shared likes and dislikes: both aspired to be engineers and neither liked mashed potatoes.

"They were just hooked on that first love kind of thing," Bob Stauble said. "They were just really having a ball."

The parents said they plan to use proceeds from the settlement to establish a foundation to honor their children by promoting causes, such as possibly giving scholarships to a child of an alcoholic parent.

"Maybe this is a gift from them, a safer, better place," Kay Parsley said.

The estates filed separate suits last year in Jefferson Circuit Court against Ohio Valley Bistros of Mariemont, Ohio, which owns another T.G.I. Friday's location off Hurstbourne Parkway and a total of about 30 restaurants in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. The estates also filed suit against Eberenz's estate.

The lawsuits were combined, as were additional claims against Scotty's, a Middletown restaurant and bar where Eberenz had a beer after leaving Friday's.


As part of the deal, Scotty's agreed to pay $650,000, to be split equally among the Parsley and Stauble estates and Eberenz's surviving daughter, who filed a wrongful death claim. Scotty's owner, Roy Scott, declined to comment on the settlement yesterday but said of the fatal crash: "I'm sorry that it happened."

The settlement says, i n standard language, that the money paid by the insurers of Ohio Valley Bistros and Scotty's is not an admission of guilt, and any liability or fault is denied.

But the teens' parents said they believe the money involved speaks volumes.

"The amount of the settlement absolutely is represented by the awful proof against the defense," said Bob Stauble, who is an attorney.

In addition to the monetary and alcohol policy sections of the settlement, Ohio Valley Bistros agreed to deal with the possibility of illegal gambling occurring at its restaurant. "It really saddened us to see that that was going on in an open manner," Bob Stauble said in an interview. "But it also gave us some insight as to why a person ... would stay somewhere drinking for 8 1/2 hours."

At least one Friday's employee said in a deposition that he knew Eberenz and others routinely gambled on televised horse races while at the restaurant. Other employees said in depositions they suspected it, but never saw it.

Servers also testified in depositions that they couldn't be sure how many drinks Eberenz had during his stay. The parents and their attorneys requested that the changes apply to all of Bistros' Friday's locations.

Judge F. Kenneth Conliffe said Monday during a hearing that mediation documents presented to him supported the company's position that the settlement they agreed to stipulates the changes were only for the Lime Kiln location.

In court, the Parsleys' attorney, Gary Hillerich, said he couldn't understand why Ohio Valley would agree "to cease illegal gambling at Lime Kiln" but not at other locations, calling it "absolutely incredulous from a public relations standpoint if nothing else."

Attorney Tom Conway represented the Staubles.

The settlement is "not against serving alcohol," Karla Stauble said. "It's serving it responsibly. Keeping track of how many drinks patrons have in a restaurant."

A company spokesman said at the time the lawsuits were filed that employees had acted properly in dealing with Eberenz that night.

According to a timeline of events created by the plaintiffs' attorneys based on evidence and depositions, Eberenz left home shortly after 9 a.m. on July 9 and arrived at Friday's around noon. Witnesses place him at the restaurant until around 8:30 p.m.

In answers to questions from the plaintiffs' attorneys in the case, Ohio Valley produced receipts for Eberenz showing he purchased six glasses of wine. Another interrogatory said restaurant officials believe someone else purchased a glass of wine for Eberenz.

Servers said they couldn't be sure how many drinks Eberenz had consumed.

Between 8:35 p.m. and 9:05 p.m., Eberenz called Deborah Creech, whose home Eberenz had been helping build, on his cell phone, according to a deposition of Creech. S he told attorneys in the deposition that she was upset with Eberenz at the time of his death because he had been paid about $167,000 for contractors but the contractors weren't being paid. She also said he was drinking too much.

"When he was talking to me on the phone, he said, ` W ait a minute Debbie. I'm off the road. I'm off the road.' "

She said she "begged the man to pull over."

About 9 p.m. Eberenz went to Scotty's. A friend told police that Eberenz ate half of a stromboli, but refused an offer from the friend of a ride home. Eberenz got two beers but only drank one, John J. Davis Jr., a friend, told police.

Eberenz left Scotty's about 10:15 and the fatal crash occurred at 10:39 p.m.

Gambling allegations

A portion of the questioning of restaurant employees and patrons dealt with the gambling allegations.

Bartender Michael Englert said in his deposition he would see a man named Thomas G. Cozzolino booking bets on horse races for bar patrons. "It tends to be kind of obvious what they're doing right there," Englert said.

In January 2001, police arrested Cozzolino, who said he later became a golfing and lunch buddy of Eberenz's, after he was observed taking a bet over the phone at the Lime Kiln Friday's, according to the arrest citation. The charges in Jefferson District Court were dismissed after Cozzolino performed community service.

When asked in a deposition in connection with the Eberenz case if he was a bookmaker, Cozzolino responded: "I plead the Fifth Amendment. I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that the truthful answer might tend to incriminate me."

Cozzolino said betting occurred at Friday's, but not every day , and Eberenz was not betting on July 9. He said that people including Eberenz would put up a sum between $10 and $50 and each pick a horse , and that the winner would take the pot.

The resolution of the civil case isn't the conclusion of the matter.

State alcoholic beverage control regulators and the Jefferson County c ommonwealth's a ttorney could look into the case and criminal charges could be filed, spokesmen for both agencies said.

"We're still reviewing the intricacies of the case," Jeff Derouen, a spokesman for the commonwealth's attorney's office, said last week.

Meanwhile, the two sets of parents said they have become closer in supporting one another since the fatalities.

"We're joined at the hip," Kay Parsley said. "... Thank God for the Staubles."

"Vice versa," Bob Stauble replied.

The Staubles joined the Parsleys at what would have been Jamie's Kentucky Country Day graduation this month, where Jamie posthumously received an award for doing the most to bring the senior class together.
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my question would be 'why so much money?'
especially when the man was at a 2 different establishments
over the course of 8 hours
$21 million only proves how greedy Americans have become
And how to place the blame on others