Macaulay estate gets settlement
Bar, liquor store that allegedly sold liquor to drunk who killed Juneau resident are set to pay
The estate of Ladd Macaulay, a founder of Juneau's DIPAC hatchery killed by a drunken driver in 2000, has settled a lawsuit against a bar and a liquor store that allegedly sold the driver alcohol shortly before the crash.
The defendants don't admit they sold liquor to the driver.
The estate's lawsuit against the Brown Bear Saloon and the liquor store Diamond Jim's was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum this week. The businesses are in the town of Indian, along the Seward Highway near Girdwood.
Many victims of drunken-driving crashes don't know they have the right to sue businesses that sold alcohol to the drivers, said Cindy Cashen, a daughter of Macaulay and executive director of the Juneau chapter for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"Our hope is this will send a message out to the liquor establishments that do serve to those who are impaired that there are consequences," she said. "This does not make insurance companies happy."
Michael Glaser of Crown Point, near Seward, was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault stemming from the April 19, 2000, crash on the Seward Highway. Glaser's pickup crossed the center line and struck a car that held three Juneau men who were touring hatcheries on state business: Macaulay, Martin Richard and Steve McGee. Macaulay and Richard were killed, and McGee was seriously injured.
Authorities said Glaser's blood-alcohol level was 0.258 two hours after the crash, about 2 1/2 times the legal limit at that time.
Macaulay's estate alleged Glaser was visibly intoxicated when he bought alcohol from the businesses named in the lawsuit. The fatal crash happened within two hours of the purchases, Cashen said.
It's against the law for businesses to sell alcohol to drunken people if the businesses fail to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will occur.
Gary Zipkin of Anchorage, attorney for the Brown Bear Saloon, said the settlement was of a disputed claim "and no admission of fault or liability is made by the Brown Bear Saloon. In fact, quite the contrary. The Brown Bear Saloon firmly believes that it did absolutely nothing in violation of its responsibilities or Alaska law."
Mary Lou Toman Redmond, who has owned Diamond Jim's for 50 years, said she doesn't recall selling Glaser alcohol and there's no proof she did. Redmond said she checks prospective customers for signs of intoxication.
"If they come in my store I can tell. I look them in the eye," said Redmond, who said one of her children was killed in 1968 by a drunken driver on the Seward Highway.
Dan Bruce of Juneau, attorney for the Macaulay estate in the case, said Glaser's own words in depositions would support the claim.
"We believe that based on Mr. Glaser's testimony we could establish he was there at those two establishments and he purchased liquor there," Bruce said.
The more difficult legal issue, though, would be to establish that Glaser was visibly intoxicated and the businesses sold to him knowing what could result.
Glaser, in his deposition for the civil case, said he drank nine or 10 beers and about 10 to 12 ounces of whiskey within 2 1/2 hours in Anchorage, prior to driving south on the Seward Highway and stopping soon in Indian, Bruce said.
Bruce said Glaser claimed he bought an 18-pack of beer and a bottle of vodka at Diamond Jim's, drank some of the vodka and drank one or two beers at the Brown Bear Saloon.
"We think that the liquor he consumed after the stop in Indian substantially impaired him," Bruce said.
State files don't show any violations of liquor laws against the Brown Bear Saloon or Diamond Jim's, said Bill Roche, chief enforcement officer of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Glaser was sentenced to 55 years in prison with 33 years suspended for the murder and assault charges. After an appeal, the sentence was reduced to 22 years in prison with nine years suspended.
The state didn't pursue criminal charges against the bar and liquor store in Indian, and that's not unusual. Roche said law enforcement agencies don't have the funding to investigate where drunken drivers get their alcohol.