Jury reaches $301B verdict in fatal DUI

A Corpus Christi jury has delivered a $301 billion verdict against a sports bar that served a customer who later ran a red light at 91 mph, killing a grandmother and her 16-year-old granddaughter.

The November 2017 drunken driving wreck also led to the death of the driver.

The victims’ families sued Beer Belly’s Sports Bar in downtown Corpus Christi.

The lawsuit filed in Nueces County court alleged that Joshua Delbosque, 29, had become “dangerously intoxicated” at the bar, yet was able to open a second tab and continued to be served drinks.

Delbosque left the establishment with a blood alcohol content of 0.263 percent, over three times the legal limit for driving and enough to render many people unconscious, according to expert testimony.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said Delbosque was served at least 11 drinks.

Minutes later, according to the lawsuit, Delbosque sped through a red light and crashed into a car driven by 59-year-old Tamra Kindred, killing her and her passenger, Aujuni Anderson, a high school sophomore.

After initially writing down $300 million, the jury unanimously awarded $301 billion to Kindred’s daughters, Jennifer Kindred and Elizabeth Anderson, in punitive damages against Beer Belly’s, which closed in 2019.

The amount exceeds the $206 billion 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and is double that of a $150 billion judgment in the 2011 personal injury case of Robbie Middleton, who died 12 years after being badly burned as a child during an attempted murder.

The Kindred/anderson family does not expect to receive any money from the judgment, according lead attorney John Flood.

Instead, the purpose of the verdict, Flood said, was to raise awareness about the impact of drunken driving and to warn bars not to overserve customers.

Texas law prohibits serving alcohol to people who are visibly drunk, but local officials have faced challenges enforcing the laws against bars and other businesses.