Buffington v. Metcalf

883 F. Supp. 1190, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20248, 1994 WL 797708
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedJune 27, 1994
DocketNo. IP 93-839 C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 883 F. Supp. 1190 (Buffington v. Metcalf) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buffington v. Metcalf, 883 F. Supp. 1190, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20248, 1994 WL 797708 (S.D. Ind. 1994).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ENTRY

BARKER, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the memorandum of defendant Robert J. Kuntz, d/b/a Village Bar & Restaurant, in support of his affirmative defense on plaintiffs sixth and eighth causes of action, deemed a motion to dismiss the sixth and eighth causes of action. For the reasons stated below, Kuntz’ motion to dismiss is denied.

I. Background

This diversity action brought by Clayton Buffington, Jr. (“Buffington”) in his individual capacity and as executor of the Estate of Mary Buffington, his late wife, seeks damages allegedly resulting from an automobile accident in Metamora, Indiana, in October, 1992. Pedestrian Mary Buffington was allegedly struck by an automobile driven by defendant Donnie Metcalf, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time. Buffington seeks damages from Donnie Met-calf, Roger Metcalf, and one bar where Buff-ington alleges that Donnie Metcalf was served alcohol on the day of the accident, Robert J. Kuntz, d/b/a Village Bar and Restaurant.

Buffington’s complaint includes three causes of action against Kuntz, the sixth, seventh, and eighth causes of action in the complaint. The sixth cause of action alleges that Kuntz was negligent per se by serving Donnie Metcalf alcohol in violation of Ind. Code § 7.1-5-10-14 (“Sales to Habitual Drunkards Prohibited”). The seventh cause of action alleges that Kuntz was negligent per se by serving Donnie Metcalf alcohol in violation of Ind.Code § 7.1-5-10-15 (“Sales to Intoxicated Person Prohibited”). The eighth cause of action alleges that Kuntz furnished intoxicating beverages to Donnie Metcalf with actual knowledge of his visible intoxication and Donnie Metcalfs intoxication was a direct and proximate cause of the injuries and damages alleged in the complaint.

II. Discussion

In support of dismissal of the sixth and eighth causes of action, Kuntz argues that claims of negligence per se and non-statutory dram shop liability are disallowed in light of the Indiana General Assembly’s enactment of [1192]*1192Ind.Code § 7.1-5-10-15.5 (“§ 15.5”), which provides as follows:

(a) As used in this section, “furnish” includes barter, deliver, sell, exchange, provide, or give away.
(b) A person who furnishes an alcoholic beverage to a person is not hable in a civil action for damages caused by the impairment or intoxication of the person who was furnished the alcoholic beverage unless:
(1) The person furnishing the alcoholic beverage had actual knowledge that the person to whom the alcoholic beverage was furnished was visibly intoxicated at the time the alcoholic beverage was furnished; and
(2) The intoxication of the person to whom the alcoholic beverage was furnished was a proximate cause of the death, injury, or damage alleged in the complaint.

Kuntz argues that, in light of the specific standard of liability set forth in § 15.5, plaintiff may not recover under the sixth or eighth causes of action.

In response, plaintiff argues that § 15.5 was enacted in derogation of the common law, must be strictly construed, and, therefore, does not preclude recovery for a violation of Ind.Code § 7.1-5-10-14. Additionally, plaintiff contends that § 15.5 is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause by “giv[ing] special privileges to purveyors of alcoholic beverages that are not available to other businesses.”

A. Standard for Dismissal

Kuntz contends that plaintiffs sixth and eighth causes of action “should be dismissed as they fail to state claims upon which relief may be granted plaintiffs_” The Court presumes, therefore, although Kuntz did not explicitly indicate so, that his motion is being made pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).1

Dismissal for failure to state a claim is appropriate where a review of the complaint, taking all factual allegations in the complaint as true, reveals that no viable cause of action exists. Greene v. Finley, 749 F.2d 467, 468 (7th Cir.1984). “If a plaintiff ... pleads facts and the facts show that he is entitled to no relief, the complaint should be dismissed. There would be no point in allowing such a lawsuit to go any further; its doom is foretold.” American Nurses’ Ass’n v. Illinois, 783 F.2d 716, 727 (7th Cir.1986).

B. Sixth Cause of Action

The sixth cause of action alleges that Kuntz was negligent per se by serving Donnie Metcalf alcohol in violation of Ind. Code § 7.1-5-10-14 (“Sales to Habitual Drunkards”), which provides as follows:

It is unlawful for a permittee to sell, barter, exchange, give, provide, or furnish and alcoholic beverage to a person whom he knows to be a habitual drunkard.

Under Indiana law, a non-excused or non-justified violation of a duty dictated by a statute is generally negligence per se. Inland Steel v. Pequignot, 608 N.E.2d 1378, 1383 (Ind.App.1993) (citing Dawson v. Long, 546 N.E.2d 1265, 1268 (Ind.App.1989), trans. denied), trans. denied. However, Indiana law is also clear that negligence per se does not necessarily mean that there is liability per se. Id. “The violation of statutory duty is not actionable negligence unless it is also the proximate cause of the injury.” Id. (em[1193]*1193phasis in original). In order for an injury to be found to be proximately caused by a statutory violation,

the injury must have been a foreseeable consequence of the violation [that] would not have occurred if the requirements of the statute had been observed.

Id. (citing Ray v. Goldsmith, 400 N.E.2d 176, 179 (Ind.App.1980).

Indiana courts also apply these requirements for actionable negligence per se in the area of dram shop liability. Since before the enactment of § 15.5, sellers of liquor have only been held liable for violations of Indiana’s dram shop statutes where:

[the] injuries inflicted by an intoxicated person [were found to be both] as a result of his intoxication [and] where such result was reasonably foreseeable....

Welch v. Railroad Crossing, Inc.,

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883 F. Supp. 1190, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20248, 1994 WL 797708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buffington-v-metcalf-insd-1994.