$40 Million Verdict After TGI Friday's Served Underage Patron Who Fatally Stabbed Orlando Jordan
Won by Carpenter & Zuckerman.
A Riverside jury awarded $40 million to the parents of Orlando Jordan after finding that TGI Friday's and its franchise operator bore 55 percent of the responsibility for his death, having repeatedly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated underage patron who then stabbed Jordan inside the restaurant.
What happened
In January 2009, Orlando Jordan, 33, was at a TGI Friday's in Riverside, California, when an argument broke out with two other patrons: Michael Castillo, then 20 years old, and his friend Louis Martinez. The confrontation turned fatal. Jordan was stabbed and died from his injuries. Castillo and Martinez were later arrested and convicted for the attack.
Jordan's parents, Carmen and Rey Jordan, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against TGI Friday's and Briad Restaurant Group, the New Jersey-based franchise company that operated the location. Their central claim: restaurant staff never checked Castillo's identification and, despite clear signs of intoxication, continued serving him alcohol. Evidence at trial showed Castillo consumed the equivalent of twelve drinks in roughly thirty minutes before the stabbing.
The defense succeeded in narrowing the case considerably before closing arguments. The trial judge granted nonsuit on claims for negligent hiring, negligent security, and general negligence, leaving a single question for the jury: whether Castillo was obviously intoxicated when staff served him. Nicholas C. Rowley of Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley LLP, who represented Carmen Jordan, tried the remaining case without any expert witnesses.
After a six-week trial in Riverside County Superior Court, the jury returned a $40 million verdict in noneconomic damages, assigning 55 percent of the fault to Briad Restaurant Group and 45 percent to the two attackers. Carmen Jordan was represented by Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley; Rey Jordan was represented separately by Keith and Angela Bruno of Bruno|Nalu. No remittitur or reduction has been reported in public records.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Claims Journal - California Jury Awards $40M in Wrongful Death Suit Over TGI Friday Killing (Jun. 22, 2015)·Archived copy
- 2.CBS Los Angeles - Jury Awards $40 Million In Suit Over TGI Friday's Killing·Archived copy
- 3.Trial Guides - $40 Million Verdict for Nick Rowley and Team (Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley LLP)·Archived copy
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