Attorneys obtained an Order granting summary judgment in a liquor liability case

Attorneys obtained an Order granting summary judgment in a liquor liability case. Our client was a motorcycle club which sponsored an "Oktoberfest" event at a local tavern. The plaintiff attended this event and became intoxicated, causing him to crash his motorcycle and sustain serious personal injuries. After pleading guilty to DUI, plaintiff sued both the tavern and the motorcycle club under the state Alcohol Beverage Server Act, which is the exclusive remedy for plaintiffs seeking to recover for injuries resulting from the service of alcoholic beverages. The Act only applies to licensed alcohol beverage servers (e.g. bars, taverns, etc.) and we argued that the Act did not apply to our private unlicensed motorcycle club which merely rented the tavern's licensed premises. Plaintiff opposed our motion, arguing that our private motorcycle club became a "de facto" licensed beverage server because members of the club and their spouses acted as unpaid volunteer servers dispensing beers to those in attendance at the Oktoberfest event. The Court rejected the plaintiff's argument and granted our motion for summary judgment.