Tiawan Eurie was heading to work about the same time that Steven Keavney walked away from a Summerville bar called Shooters and got behind the wheel of his car, according to a lawsuit that recently settled for more than $1 million.
After their vehicles collided on a Dorchester County road, Eurie accused bartenders at Shooters of overserving Keavney. His blood alcohol level was measured at .178, which is more than twice the legal limit, two and half hours after the crash.
Eurie’s attorneys, Tiffany Spann-Wilder, who has an eponymous practice in North Charleston, and David Yarborough Jr. of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston, said their toxicology expert determined that Keavney’s alcohol level was at least .278 while he was at the bar.
Based on that level of intoxication, Yarborough said, it should have been obvious to the bar staff that Keavney was in no condition to drive.
Keavney pleaded guilty to DUI and admitted responsibility for the crash, which left Eurie with a fractured femur, broken hand, facial lacerations, $94,000 in medical bills and $13,800 in lost wages, according to Yarborough.
Keavney said he’d gone to Shooters twice on the day of the incident. He had a receipt from the first visit, which was around noon, but said he paid cash for the second tab, which covered about four or five hours of heavy drinking. He had a passenger during the crash who corroborated his story.
The bar staff confirmed that Keavney came in during the early afternoon and had a few beers, but denied that he returned later, Yarborough said. He added that the bar does not have a video surveillance system.
“It was going to be his word against theirs,” Yarborough said.
Further complicating the case was the fact that police officers noted in their crash report that Keavney told them he was coming from a different bar called Jack’s Place, which is near Shooters.
“We think Mr. Keavney may have been there [at Jack’s] at some earlier time,” Spann-Wilder said.
Eurie also named Jack’s in his complaint, which the bar failed to answer, causing it to be found in default. After some wrangling with Jack’s insurer over coverage, the insurer’s errors and omissions carrier agreed to pay $312,500 toward the settlement.
Shooter’s insurer paid $725,000, Keavney’s auto insurance kicked in $50,000, and Eurie’s underinsured motorist coverage contributed another $25,000 for a total payment of $1,112,500 for Eurie’s injuries.
“I hope this is a wake-up call to businesses that serve alcohol,” Spann-Wilder said. “Their desire to profit can really turn into peril for an unsuspecting motorist.
Attorneys for Shooters and Jack’s Place did not respond to interview requests.
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DRAM SHOP CLAIM – NEGLIGENCE
Case name: Eurie v. Keavney, et al.
Court: Dorchester County Circuit Court
Date of settlement: May 16
Amount: $1,087,000
Attorneys for plaintiff: Tiffany Spann-Wilder, North Charleston; David Yarborough and Douglas Jennings of Yarborough Applegate, Charleston
Attorneys for defendants: Adam Neil of Murphy & Grantland, Columbia; Adam Yount of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Charleston; and Elizabeth McMillan of McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Greenville