A New York appeals court has thrown out a $10 million lawsuit against a Quickway c-store that sold a man a 12-pack of beer six minutes before he caused a high-speed collision that killed him and another driver, the New York Law Journal reported.
The accident occurred in February 2003. In 2005, the parents of Joseph Kaufman, the other driver killed in the crash, sued the Quickway in Franklin, N.Y., alleging the store knowingly sold a “visibly intoxicated” Earl Beers, 38, the 12-pack of Genesee.
Last week, the Appellate Division, 3rd Department, overturned a lower court and decided the alleged initial statements by Quickway clerk Bonney Edwards that she smelled alcohol on Beers’ breath at the time of the sale were inadmissible hearsay. Since there was no other admissible evidence to support the conclusion that Beers was intoxicated in the store, it ruled that the defendants’ motion to dismiss the action should be granted.