Recent Jury Trials

• Maggie defended a client tavern owner from the beginning of the case through the appeal. The plaintiff became a quadriplegic due to injuries in a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff sued the tavern and two other bars that served the driver alcohol, declaring that the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of service. Maggie successfully barred hearsay evidence and prevailed on summary judgment and prevailed again on appeal. Plaintiff’s petition to the Washington Supreme Court was denied. Ensley v. Mollmann, 155 Wn. App. 744 (2010)

• In a wrongful death action arising out of a bar fight, Maggie defended the owner of a Seattle nightclub. The deceased’s estate and surviving child sued the nightclub and its security company, claiming that the security company neglected to intervene and secure a weapon in a bar brawl in which a patron died. The trial court dismissed the liability claim against the nightclub, holding that it was not vicariously liable for the security company’s acts or omissions because it was an independent contractor, not the nightclubs' agent, as argued by the plaintiffs.