$1.2 Million Dram Shop Settlement for the Parents of a 17-Year-Old Killed by a Drunk Driver Doing 105 mph
After trial: Settlements totaling $1,215,000 from four insurers, as reported by plaintiffs' counsel: $650,000, $450,000, $100,000 and $15,000. Three payments had been received by late January 2024; the $650,000 payment was pending when reported on February 9, 2024.
Won by Lomurro Munson LLC.
A 17-year-old Old Bridge High School student was riding in a friend's pickup on Englishtown Road in Old Bridge at about 3:50 a.m. on July 6, 2019 when an Acura traveling an estimated 105 mph hit the truck from behind. She was thrown from the pickup and died at the scene; the Acura's passenger also died, and its driver later blew a 0.193 and was sentenced to 17 years for aggravated manslaughter. Her parents' estate suit claimed two Old Bridge bars served him while visibly intoxicated, and on January 10, 2024 the bars' insurers agreed to pay $1.1 million on top of $115,000 already paid by the two drivers' auto carriers, for a total of $1,215,000.
What happened
Just before 4 a.m. on July 6, 2019, a GMC Sierra pickup was traveling about 40 mph on Englishtown Road in Old Bridge, New Jersey. Its driver, 20-year-old Jonathan Ortiz, had a 17-year-old friend riding with him, a member of Old Bridge High School's class of 2020. An Acura TL driven by 25-year-old Tristan Rodriguez came up behind them at a speed later estimated at 105 mph and slammed into the rear of the pickup. The girl was thrown from the truck and pronounced dead at the scene. Rodriguez's passenger, a 29-year-old Old Bridge woman, also died there. Ortiz was hospitalized.
Rodriguez was tested shortly after the crash and had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.193, more than twice the legal limit. He pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide, and fourth-degree assault by auto, and in September 2021 was sentenced to 17 years in state prison, with 85 percent to be served before parole eligibility and a 20-year license suspension on release.
The girl's parents brought a wrongful death and dram shop suit on behalf of her estate. Emeka Nkwuo of Lomurro Law in Freehold represented them together with Craig S. Laughlin of Gale & Laughlin in Hazlet. The suit named Rodriguez; Gem Set, doing business as Antini's Bar; and Sideline Lounge, doing business as Club 516, both in Old Bridge. It also named Ortiz, because the girl had not been wearing a seat belt in his truck.
The evidence against the first bar came from its own cameras. Video from Antini's showed a bartender serving Rodriguez at least eight drinks in under two hours, and the bartender testified there was no doubt in her mind that he was over the legal limit when she poured him a shot and a beer at last call. Rodriguez then drove to Club 516, where he was served one or two more beers before getting back behind the wheel. The estate's toxicologist, John Brick, opined that Rodriguez was served while visibly intoxicated at both establishments. The bars' expert, toxicologist Richard J. Hamilton, reviewed the same video and argued Rodriguez showed no visible signs of intoxication, the defense the New Jersey Dram Shop Act requires plaintiffs to overcome.
The auto carriers paid first. Progressive paid the full $15,000 on Ortiz's policy and GEICO paid the full $100,000 on Rodriguez's. On January 10, 2024, Antini's Bar agreed to pay $650,000 from its policy with Cap Specialty Insurance and Club 516 agreed to pay $450,000 from its Arch Insurance policy, bringing the total recovery for the estate to $1,215,000. Club 516's payment was received on January 22, 2024; Antini's payment was still outstanding when the settlement was reported the following month.
Defense counsel for the driver, the pickup driver, and the two bars did not respond to the New Jersey Law Journal's requests for comment.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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