BGC Entertainment, Inc. v. Buchanan ex rel.Buchanan

41 N.E.3d 692, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 549, 2015 WL 4640599
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 5, 2015
DocketNo. 49A05-1408-CT-373
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 41 N.E.3d 692 (BGC Entertainment, Inc. v. Buchanan ex rel.Buchanan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
BGC Entertainment, Inc. v. Buchanan ex rel.Buchanan, 41 N.E.3d 692, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 549, 2015 WL 4640599 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

[1] Appellants-Defendants, BGC Entertainment, Inc. d/b/a Brad’s Gold Club and 3551 Lafayette Road Corp. d/b/a Brad’s Gold Club (collectively, BGC), appeal the trial court’s denial of summary judgment in a negligence action brought by Appellee-Plaintiff, Jerry Coleman Buchanan (Buchanan), by his father and guardian, Odell Buchanan.

[2] We'affirm.

ISSUES

[3] BGC raises two issues on appeal, which we restate as the following:

(1) Whether the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment regarding its liability under Indiana’s Dram Shop Act; and
(2) Whether the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment regarding its liability under the common law.

[4] Buchanan raises one issue on cross-appeal, which we restate as follows: Whether the trial court erred in denying his motion for partial summary judgment regarding the issue of BGC’s imputed knowledge.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1

[5] Shortly before 9:00 p.m. on July 28, 2007, Candice Vowell (Vowell) arrived at BGC—a bar and adult entertainment club—in Indianapolis, Indiana, to begin her shift as a cocktail waitress. Vowell’s mother, Shannon Vowell (Shannon), was also a cocktail waitress at BGC, and they were both scheduled, to work that night until the bar closed at 3:00 a.m.- BGC has a policy that prohibits its bartenders and waitresses from consuming any alcohol while working, although they are permitted to have one free drink at the end of their shifts. Yet, Vowell explained that shortly after she clocked in, the whole staff joined together to have a shot of vodka in commemoration of the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race, which would occur the following day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

[6] In light of the Brickyard 400 weekend festivities, BGC had a large crowd of patrons throughout the night. During her six-hour shift) Vowell stated that she did not consume any additional alcoholic beverages. After the bar closed and while the staff was completing their usual end-of-' shift reporting and clean-up, one of the bartenders poured a shot of 'vodka for Vowell as her complimentary end-of-shift drink. According to Vowell, her drink was 2.5 ounces rather than the standard 1.25-ounce shot. At approximately 3:30 a.m., both Vowell and Shannon clocked out, and neither of them doubted that Vowell was fit to drive herself home. Because Vowell and Shannon lived in the same apartment complex, Shannon drove behind Vowell. For the duration of their drive home, Vo-well and Shannon spoke to each other via cell phoné.

[7] As Vowell and Shannon drove east on Kessler Boulevard, a black male wearing no shirt and dark pants—later identified as Buchanan—was walking west “in the middle of the [eastbound] lane.” (Appellants’ App. p. 136). Near the intersection of Kessler Boulevard and Ditch Road, Vowell collided with Buchanan, whom she had not seen walking in the roadway. The [696]*696impact shattered Vowell’s windshield, and she informed Shannon that she had “just hit something,” and Shannon indicated that she saw a white plastic bag fly up into the air. (Appellants’ ■ App. p. 161). ■ Although they were unsure of what Vowell had crashed into, neither Vowell nor Shannon stopped to investigate. Instead, because Vowell could no longer see through her windshield, Shannon drove around her in order to guide Vowell the rest of the way home. An oncoming motorist, Ryan McCullough (McCullough), had witnessed the entire event. He described that upon impact with the front of Vowell’s vehicle, Buchanan bounced up and smashed into the windshield before flipping two times in the air and falling to the ground. McCullough noted that neither Vowell’s vehicle nor Buchanan made any attempt to avoid the collision. McCullough reported the hit-and-run to 9-1-1 and waited with Buchanan, who was lying unresponsive in the street, until emergency personnel arrived.

[8] When Vowell arrived home, she awoke her husband in a panic and told him that she had hit something with her vehicle. Vowell’s husband went outside to -inspect her vehicle, and after observing the shattered windshield and the substantial front-end damage, he left in his own vehicle to see if he could determine what she had struck. When he returned a little while later, Vowell’s husband informed her that an ambulance and police vehicles were at the scene because she had hit a pedestrian—ie., Buchanan. At approximately 6:00 a.m., Vowell called the pólice to report her involvement in the accident.

[9] Detective Bruce Wright (Detective Wright) of the Marion County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team arrived at Vowell’s apartment to investigate. After administering Vowell’s Miranda warnings, Detective Wright “detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage about [her] person,” and Vowell admitted that she had consumed “a shot of ‘3 Olives Vodka’ at her place of employment immediately prior to driving her vehicle.” (Appellants’ App. p. -89). Detective Wright also examined Vowell’s vehicle parked in front of her apartment and “noticed blood, pieces of flesh and hair in the shattered windshield.” (Appellants’ App. p. 252). After Vowell agreed to submit to a chemical test, Detective Wright transported her to Wishard Hospital for a blood draw. Three hours after the accident,- at 7:08 a.m., Vowell’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.06%. Two expert toxicologists concluded that Vowell’s BAC at the time of the accident would have been approximately 0.10% to 0.128%. Based on her BAC, both experts also agreed that Vowell’s alcohol intake must have exceeded' the two shots of vodka that she claimed to have consumed at BGC.

[10] As a result of the collision, Buchanan sustained severe brain trauma, a broken nose, and fractures to both lower bones in his right leg. On July 14, 2008, pursuant to a plea agreement, Vowell pled guilty to one Count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, a Class D felony, Ind.COde §' 9-30-5-4(a)(l)(A) (2013). She was subsequently sentenced to 365 days, entirely suspended to probation.

[11] On February 18, 2009, Buchanan filed an Amended Complaint. In part, Buchanan alleged that BGC violated its statutory 'and common law duty “to make sure that its employees did not become intoxicated during and after their employment by consumption of alcoholic beverages provided by [BGC], before they took to the streets on their way home from work.” (Appellants’ App. p. 13). On January 31, 2014, Buchanan filed a motion for partial summary judgment, contending that Vo-well’s actual knowledge of her own intoxication should be imputed to BGC as her [697]*697employer. On February 28, 2014, BGC filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, arguing that BGC was not liable for the damages caused by Vowell’s intoxication under.either the Dram Shop Act or the common law because there is no evidence that BGC had actual knowledge that Vowell was visibly intoxicated at the time she was served an alcoholic beverage. On April 21, 2014, the trial court conducted a summary judgment hearing. On June 20, 2014, the trial court issued its Order, denying the parties’ cross-motions based upon existing questions of material fact.

[12] BGC and Buchanan now appeal. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

. DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

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41 N.E.3d 692, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 549, 2015 WL 4640599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bgc-entertainment-inc-v-buchanan-ex-relbuchanan-indctapp-2015.