Couple Sues Bar Chain Over Accident : Courts: Plaintiffs say bartender let them drink too much before driving. Lawsuit seeks $500,000.
In a $500,000 lawsuit against the National Sports Grill and Bar, a couple alleges a bartender should not have let them get so drunk and should have confiscated their car keys.
In the suit, filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, Arthur Michael Cruz and his wife, Kelly, said they went to a Christmas party Dec. 12, 1994, at a bar owned by the chain and were issued tickets for drinks.
The suit alleges that even though they were drunk, the bartender continued to serve them drinks, which is illegal in California. The bartender also should have kept the couple’s car keys and told them to find another way home, the suit contends.
After the party, the Cruzes were seriously injured when their car veered off the road and crashed into a ravine, according to the suit.
Managers at the four National Sports Bars in Orange County--in Buena Park, Orange, Santa Ana and Fullerton--said they were not familiar with the lawsuit. But two of them said Cruz was an assistant manager at one time at the Buena Park bar and had worked in several other locations. It was unclear from the suit where the 1994 Christmas party occurred.
Neither the Cruzes nor their attorney could be reached late Wednesday.
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