Daley v. Wenzel

2001 WY 80, 30 P.3d 547, 2001 Wyo. LEXIS 96, 2001 WL 995297
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 30, 2001
Docket00-131, 00-132
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 2001 WY 80 (Daley v. Wenzel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Daley v. Wenzel, 2001 WY 80, 30 P.3d 547, 2001 Wyo. LEXIS 96, 2001 WL 995297 (Wyo. 2001).

Opinion

DONNELL, District Judge.

[T1] In this appeal we consider several issues surrounding a judgment resulting from a personal injury accident. We affirm the judgment in all respects.

ISSUES

[T2] Beverly and Robert Wenzel state the issues for the Court's consideration:

*550 A. Whether W.S. § 1-89-118(a), which limits to $250,000 the amount of damages recoverable by a single claimant from a governmental entity, violates Article 10, Section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution, which bars the legislature from enacting limits on the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the injury or death of any person.
B. The trial court erred in giving jury instruction stating that no person who has legally provided aleoholie liquor or malt beverage to any other person is liable for damages caused by the intoxication of the other person, when the instruction did not address any issue to be decided by the jury at trial, was cumulative of other instructions so that it overemphasized the issue of Mrs. Wenzel's intoxication, and was confusing as it stood in conflict with other negligence instructions.
C. Whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff's dram shop claim, or whether the grant of immunity from dram shop liability contained in W.S. § 12-8-801(a) is unconstitutional under the equal protection provisions of the Wyoming constitution.

The Lounge Bar states the issues slightly differently:

I. Whether the trial court properly instructed the jury on Wyoming Statute § 12-8-301(a) concerning dram shop immunity.
II. Whether Appellants Daley, Eastes and Shepard waived their right to object to the giving of Instruction No. 24 concerning dram shop immunity when they failed to make any objection prior to the submission of the instructions to the jury.
III. Whether there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict finding The Lounge Bar 0% at fault.
IV. Whether Appellant Beverly Wenzel failed to properly challenge the constitutionality of Wyoming Statute § 12-8-301(a) at the trial court level, thereby waiving her right to present this issue on appeal. .
V. Whether W.S. § 12-8-801(a) providing immunity from dram shop liability violates the equal protection provisions of the Wyoming Constitution.

Finally, Officers Daley, Eastes and Shepard (Officers) raise the following issues:

I. Did the district court commit prejudicial and/or plain error when it instructed the jury on Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 12-8-801 concerning dram shop immunity thereby misleading and confusing the jury on the applicable principles of law?
II. Was the jury's verdict finding the Lounge Bar free from liability supported by sufficient evidence?

FACTS

[13] On the afternoon of Friday, May 18, 1994, Beverly Wenzel accompanied her husband, Robert, and their daughter, Julie, to a bar in Casper, Wyoming. The threesome remained at the bar until approximately 6:00 pm. and then departed for home. Beverly consumed some amount of alcohol while at the bar, but the exact amount was later disputed at trial

[T4] After returning home, Beverly decided to go to another bar while Robert remained at the house. She arrived at The Lounge Bar sometime between 7:45 p.m. and midnight, the exact time again being disputed at trial,. The parties also disputed whether Beverly was intoxicated at the time she reached The Lounge Bar.

[T5] Beverly entered The Lounge Bar and sat on her "usual" bar stool. She consumed more aleohol, again the precise amount being a matter of contention. At some point, she became involved in a loud, profane argument with a patron that lasted approximately 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, Beverly apparently was intoxicated. The owner of The Lounge Bar, Mr. Cliff Chew, asked Beverly to "quiet down."

[T6] What happened a few minutes later also was disputed by the parties. Apparently, Beverly either 1) put her head on her hands, became quiet, and rather suddenly "slid," feet-first, from the barstool gently onto the floor, or 2) passed out and fell forward from her barstool, hitting her head on the floor as she fell. Onee on the floor, Beverly curled into a fetal position. A bar *551 employee and Chew checked on Beverly, placed a cold towel on her forehead, and attempted to "awaken" her. Both testified Beverly did not appear to have sustained any injuries Chew then called Beverly's husband at home but received no answer, so he contacted 911 dispatch.

[1 7] In Chew's brief conversation with 911 dispatch, he told the dispatcher that Beverly was drunk and had passed out. He informed the dispatcher that Beverly did not have any medical problems "as far as he could tell" and was just "completely intoxicated." However, he failed to mention she had fallen from a barstool.

[18] After the call, Chew and the other employee moved Beverly to a nearby chair, feeling it was best if Beverly was sitting upright in case she vomited. Both individuals grabbed Beverly beneath her arms and dragged her to the chair, supporting her head against their bodies. However, once seated, it became apparent that Beverly was unstable on the chair, as she "stretched out" and gave the impression she might fall again. Chew and the employee again moved Beverly to the floor and propped her against a stack of beer cases in the corner. During the course of these events, Beverly mumbled incoherently and made occasional movements but did not regain consciousness.

[1 9] Shortly after 1:00 a.m., about fifteen minutes after the 911 call, Officer Ed Daley arrived at the seene. Daley spoke with Chew and asked if there were any medical problems, to which Chew replied "no" but confirmed that Beverly was intoxicated. Daley attempted to speak with Beverly but she replied incoherently; he made no further attempts to ascertain her medical condition. Shortly thereafter, Officer Pat Eastes arrived at the scene. Daley and Eastes concluded Beverly was highly inebriated and decided to transport her via patrol car to the hospital. While carrying Beverly from the bar, the Officers apparently lost their grip and either "dropped" or "sat" Beverly back to the ground. The Officers then continued to carry Beverly from the bar, with Daley grabbing her beneath the underarms or by the wrists and Eastes grabbing her by either ankles or the bottoms of her pants.

[110] Onee outside, the officers placed Beverly on the sidewalk and awaited the arrival of Officer Marvin Shepard. 1 Once Shepard arrived, all three officers began to lift Beverly into the patrol car but Shepard began to lose his grip and Beverly again was either "dropped" or "sat" back on the ground. Shepard re-gripped Beverly by the wrists and loaded her into the car while another officer pulled her across the seat from the opposite side of the car. Shepard attempted to close the car door but Beverly's head was protruding.

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Bluebook (online)
2001 WY 80, 30 P.3d 547, 2001 Wyo. LEXIS 96, 2001 WL 995297, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daley-v-wenzel-wyo-2001.