Parents sue daughter's friends, bar, in drinking death

EDINA, Minn. — Amanda Jax would be alive if her friends had stopped buying her drinks, or if they had sought medical help when they saw the 21-year-old had vomited and was unconscious after partying on her birthday, her mother said Thursday.

Here's a girl who drank herself to death on her 21st birthday, so her parents are suing her friends and the bar that served her. Apparently, Amanda Jax also had two DUI's before her 21st birthday.

Whose responsibility is this? Amanda Jax? Her parents? The bar? Or her friends? I say, Amanda Jax.

www.wctrib.com...

[edit on 2/29/08 by kattraxx]

Apparently, the bar, Sidelines, was shut down for its alleged role in Amanda Jax's death.

Craig Blattner, owner of Sidelines, did not return a call seeking comment. The Mankato City Council on Monday suspended Sidelines' liquor license. The bar has closed and lost its lease.

I would argue that someone who has racked up two DUI's before they are even 21 years of age has a problem with alcohol-- so why didn't her parents do anything to help her? Is this lawsuit simply a way to deflect guilt?

reply to post by kattraxx


This country has turned into a wretched horrible place where no one takes responsibility for thier own actions. While I can understand and empathize with the parents of this young girls grief I feel that it is most certainly misdirected. If this country is to survive we have got to get back to the ownership of our failures. It certainly is a waste to lose a promising young person to something so avoidable, yet you are correct where were her parents when the first DUI happened, where was the correction and punishment for it before the second one happened. I personally love to go out and drnk it is my weekend release, but I know my limits my parents taught me to constantly be aware of them.

Looks like the article got pulled, so I don't have all the details to comment, so I'll jsut toss out a few scenarios.

First actually happened to me one New Year's. We were all underage, but I was one of the older ones, and had thrown the party. One of the younger kids guzzled half a jug of vodka in a matter of minutes while I was in another room. He became completely incoherent and began vomiting. In sub-zero temps, we carried him over to a public schoolyard a few blocks away, in a plastic snow-sled, and called an ambulance. He had hypothermia and had to get his stomach pumped. He was in the hospital for two days.

The point here, is that the friends should have been looking out for her. But at the same time, it was not their responsiblity to do so if she had turned 21. By that age she should have learned that people you hang out with are not necessarily friends. Furthermore, they may have been too drunk themselves to realize there was a problem. I have seen plenty of people puke and pass out.

The bar will probably end up having to pay, because they're not supposed to serve people who are totally wasted. But there again, just because there is a law, I think it sets a bad precedent to not exercise personal responsibility.

I can tell you one thing, I have had my share of dangerous drinking, but would never blame someone else for it.

:w:

Right or wrong, the parents have a good case against the kids and the bar.

I'm certified in New Mexico to serve alcohol and, believe me, serving alcohol is no small matter here.

Not all servers are as cautious as they should be, but if a server serves a person who is found to be driving under the influence and the last point of sale can be identified, it can cost the establishment and the server big time, including jail and hefty fines and God forbid that someone gets killed.

There's plenty of responsibility to go around here.

Our culture isn't rational when it comes to the dangers of alcohol and colleges should be on the front lines of the effort to get the word out about just how dangerous alcohol is.

[edit on 2008/3/1 by GradyPhilpott]

www.startribune.com...

Here's a new source for the story. It seems every time I find one, it's pulled the next day.

I bet if her friends wouldn't have bought her drinks, she would've bought them herself. Yeah her friends made some pretty stupid mistakes, however, I have been intoxicated a time or two where I was vomiting and nearly unconscious and nothing came of it. I'm sure many people have had that happen to them and it was not a dangerous situation...so perhaps her friends didn't understand the seriousness of the situation.

I wish there was an article stating the facts of her two prior DUI's. How drunk was she? Minnesota has a "not a drop" law and there have been incidents where young adults have been charged with a DUI after taking cold medicine with alcohol in it. Rare, but it has happened. But more importantly, after she was charged, did her parents bail her out? I'm willing to bet they did.

I understand the parents grief but I think they really need to realize that their daughter screwed up, plain and simple. You can play with blame all day but you can not deny that she had went out with the intention to get plastered.

Unfortunatly, how I understand it, as a bartender and establishment that serves liqour, you are responsible for "cutting people off". Most bartenders are supposed to know the physiological effects of alcohol, how fast it's absorbed, how big the person is, ect. In Arizona too, you must pass a test to serve (or are at least suppose to) alcohol and food. But as it sounds there was a group of people all ordering drinks, the bartender can definetly loose track of how much each person consumes. The friends in this case should not be held responsible in anyway. Most people turning 21 are out to get smashed, and that's their friends intentions too. I sure did! It wasn't the first time she drank, she was no newbie at it, there needs to personal responsiblity.

Very sad, when a young person dies, especially from thier own
behavior; but I'm with you- Kattraxx about it being her fault, and
maybe a little fault of 'peer pressure' as well.

Jovi1 hits the head of the nail- in taking responsibility for one's self,
heck, if we ALL did that, we wouldn't need insurance, or lawyers, etc...

Jackinthebox, we must have grown up similarly, I tell ya- me too, with
the drinking experiences you mention! After chugging way too much,
and heaving my guts out, you'd think I woulda learned! But Noooo...

I must tell you one of mine that will always stand out- My friend Eric
'slid' his car up to my farmhouse at around midnight on Jan 3, 1991.
(one of the coldest nights in years) during a blizzard. He was SMASHED!
A couple hours later, he wanted to leave, my roomate tried to stop him,
and a fistfight ensued, right in my kitchen! I chased after him out in
the driveway, pleading for him to stay. He refused. I attempted to get
his keys, but he had already broken them off in the ignition, so he
could not be prevented from driving, ever! (total HAMMERhead!)

The snow was raging, and when I looked back at him from his car, he
was holding everyone off, with a loaded .45!

That's pretty much where our 'responsibility' ended, ya know?

Not 6 hours later, the sheriffs, and his uncontrollable, UNCONSOLABLE
weeping mother & father were pounding on the door...

trying to blame ME for his death!?!!!

I was mortified. I had served him NO alcohol. The cops were really
staring me down, and his father wanted to know if Eric had any guns
on him, cause his were missing! I told what I knew, solemnly.

3 days later, at the funeral, his mother and father apologized to me,
and thanked me for being such a good friend! Turned out that Eric had
been binge drinking ALL weekend they said, and was kicked out of a bar
nearby, just before coming to my house! They sued the bar, and lost-
because the bartender only served him a few, which he CHUGGED, so
they cut him off, he became unruly, and they kicked him out!

We were still pretty young then, 27, and have learned hard lessons
since then, in the way of a lot of "closed-casket" funerals!

"Howa bout a Fresca?"

reply to post by FRIGHTENER


That's a tough story there bud. Been to a few funerals myself.

Those bartenders and her friends should be given medals for Upholding the Public Safety.

Any drunk out of control enough to kill herself with alcohol and get two DWI's will eventually kill someone given enough time.

I'll lay the blame on the girl. No one forced her to drink herself insensible. I'll put some of the blame on the parents, too. Two DUI's before she was even legal? That hints at a problem, IMHO. In fact, it screams at a problem...

Yet the bar and the friends will be held accountable. Maybe they do bear some of the blame, but not as much as the others.

My job entails alcohol sales, and I can and would be held legally liable if one of my customers is involved in an accident and I was the last sale to them.