MedicCook
12-19-2008, 12:51 PM
Widow sues bars in DWI case
Legal action upsets family of teen also killed in June crash
BALLSTON SPA -- The widow of a Greenfield man who police say caused a fatal crash in June because he was drunk has sued the bars where he was drinking that night.
Both Michael Arpey, 44, and Ed Loomis, 17, died when Arpey's truck collided with Loomis' car on Route 9N.
Police said Loomis was not at fault, but Arpey was driving drunk and speeding when he crossed the center line and hit Loomis head-on.
Arpey's wife, Melissa Arpey, named the bars It's Confidential and Saratoga City Tavern, both on Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs. According to court papers filed in the Saratoga County Court, the bartenders served Arpey too many drinks the night of June 4 and he died in a car crash as a result.
Melissa Arpey and her 1-year-old son, Myles, are named as plaintiffs who lost "financial support and parental services" as a result of Michael Arpey's death.
The lawsuit doesn't mention Loomis, a city football player who worked at the Spa City Diner to help his mother, a single parent. Loomis was on his way home from a friend's house the night he died; the force of the crash threw him from his 1990 Pontiac sedan even thought he was wearing a seatbelt.
The Loomis family attorney, Oscar Schreiber, said he plans to file a similar lawsuit Monday, also naming It's Confidential and Saratoga City Tavern. Schreiber said the suit would name Arpey's estate as well, but Melissa Arpey has yet to create an estate in her husband's name an insult to the Loomis family, who might be eligible for some money from the estate, Schreiber said.
"As a lawyer, I can see what they're doing," Schreiber said of Melissa Arpey's lawsuit. "But as a human being it doesn't sit well with me."
Arpey's lawyer, Matthew McNamara, offered no comment on the claim, but Schreiber said he has spoken to a witness who was drinking with Arpey at It's Confidential at 3 p.m. the afternoon of the crash. Arpey allegedly left the bar, went to Saratoga City Tavern and came back to It's Confidential before leaving for good at 9:35 p.m., nine minutes before the crash.
"The witness said (Arpey) was very, very intoxicated," Schreiber said.
The owners of the bars could not be reached for comment. The companies that own both bars hold state liquor licenses. The tavern is owned by Fitch Bros., Ltd.
In 2005, previous owner Longshot Enterprises was fined $2,000 by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control for violating the terms of its license by operating more bars in the four-story bar than allowed by the liquor license.
Peter Gerstenzang, a DWI defense attorney said the "dram shop law," which allows innocent third parties to sue bars, is hundreds of years old. But even when all the elements are in place for a legal case involving a bar allegedly over serving someone, the facts are hard to prove.
"You have to prove the bartender made an illegal sale, when the customer was visibly intoxicated," Gerstenzang said.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=752036
Legal action upsets family of teen also killed in June crash
BALLSTON SPA -- The widow of a Greenfield man who police say caused a fatal crash in June because he was drunk has sued the bars where he was drinking that night.
Both Michael Arpey, 44, and Ed Loomis, 17, died when Arpey's truck collided with Loomis' car on Route 9N.
Police said Loomis was not at fault, but Arpey was driving drunk and speeding when he crossed the center line and hit Loomis head-on.
Arpey's wife, Melissa Arpey, named the bars It's Confidential and Saratoga City Tavern, both on Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs. According to court papers filed in the Saratoga County Court, the bartenders served Arpey too many drinks the night of June 4 and he died in a car crash as a result.
Melissa Arpey and her 1-year-old son, Myles, are named as plaintiffs who lost "financial support and parental services" as a result of Michael Arpey's death.
The lawsuit doesn't mention Loomis, a city football player who worked at the Spa City Diner to help his mother, a single parent. Loomis was on his way home from a friend's house the night he died; the force of the crash threw him from his 1990 Pontiac sedan even thought he was wearing a seatbelt.
The Loomis family attorney, Oscar Schreiber, said he plans to file a similar lawsuit Monday, also naming It's Confidential and Saratoga City Tavern. Schreiber said the suit would name Arpey's estate as well, but Melissa Arpey has yet to create an estate in her husband's name an insult to the Loomis family, who might be eligible for some money from the estate, Schreiber said.
"As a lawyer, I can see what they're doing," Schreiber said of Melissa Arpey's lawsuit. "But as a human being it doesn't sit well with me."
Arpey's lawyer, Matthew McNamara, offered no comment on the claim, but Schreiber said he has spoken to a witness who was drinking with Arpey at It's Confidential at 3 p.m. the afternoon of the crash. Arpey allegedly left the bar, went to Saratoga City Tavern and came back to It's Confidential before leaving for good at 9:35 p.m., nine minutes before the crash.
"The witness said (Arpey) was very, very intoxicated," Schreiber said.
The owners of the bars could not be reached for comment. The companies that own both bars hold state liquor licenses. The tavern is owned by Fitch Bros., Ltd.
In 2005, previous owner Longshot Enterprises was fined $2,000 by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control for violating the terms of its license by operating more bars in the four-story bar than allowed by the liquor license.
Peter Gerstenzang, a DWI defense attorney said the "dram shop law," which allows innocent third parties to sue bars, is hundreds of years old. But even when all the elements are in place for a legal case involving a bar allegedly over serving someone, the facts are hard to prove.
"You have to prove the bartender made an illegal sale, when the customer was visibly intoxicated," Gerstenzang said.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=752036