Bars sued for serving drunk driver
Man who lost family lauds unprecedented legal action
Lou Van De Vorst is applauding SGI for taking the unprecedented step of suing two Saskatoon bars that served liquor to Catherine McKay the night she killed four members of his family while driving drunk.
“People who serve liquor have to be responsible in the way they serve that liquor and if they’re not being responsible, then actions end up with consequences,” Van De Vorst said Thursday. “It’s one more step in trying to get the number of impaired driving charges, deaths and injuries due to impaired drivers down. Anything that can be done is a welcome thing.”
SGI is suing the owners of the now-closed Industrial Kitchen & Bar and the former operators of Crackers Licensed Cocktail & Dining Room, MADE Holdings Ltd., for contributory negligence, said SGI executive vice-president Earl Cameron, who fought back tears several times during a press conference when he announced the legal action.
SGI filed the statement of claim, which includes allegations not yet proven in court, Thursday in Saskatoon. A statement of defence has not yet been filed.
According to the statement of claim: “Each tavern failed to maintain an adequate and reasonable system to ensure safe passage home of its patrons” and “each tavern knew or ought to have known that Catherine McKay was likely to drive while in an intoxicated and/ or impaired state.”
Neither tavern contacted the Saskatoon City Police or other policing authorities nor placed McKay in the care of a sober person, the statement continued.
This is the first time SGI has pursued legal action against drinking establishments.
“We all need to be held accountable — whether we’re drinking with our friends or family or drinking in a bar,” Cameron said. “I think this is a case of creating a lot of awareness and making people accountable for the actions that you take ... Once you consume alcohol, it impairs your judgment. Once your judgment is impaired, someone needs to look after you.”
Court heard during McKay’s sentencing hearing last July the two bars served her on Jan. 2 and 3, 2016.
According to evidence heard in court, McKay’s blood alcohol concentration was nearly three times the legal limit when the vehicle she was driving collided with the car carrying four members of the Van De Vorst family Jan. 3, 2016.
McKay received a 10-year prison sentence after she pleaded guilty in June 2016 to four counts of impaired driving causing death in connection with the collision that killed Jordan, 34; Chanda, 33; Kamryn, five; and two-year-old Miguire Van De Vorst.
The maximum that can be recovered under the Fatal Actions Act is $95,000. While not a huge sum, Cameron took exception to it being referred to as a “token” amount, considering four people were killed.
He said SGI will pursue similar actions against other liquor establishments in comparable cases when the Crown corporation believes the evidence supports it.
“There is a legal obligation to make sure your patrons are safe and they don’t harm themselves or someone else,” he said.
Cameron commended the many responsible Saskatchewan liquor establishments.
“They make sure you aren’t overserved, they make sure you have a safe ride home, they offer safe rides home,” he said. “There’s bars in Regina that were paying your rides home. That’s the kind of thing that you need to do if you’re going to serve customers a large amount of alcohol.”
SGI waited to launch the action until the criminal proceedings and appeals were done.“We also wanted to make sure that all of the information we had was accurate and that we would be proceeding with the very best evidence,” Cameron said. “Ultimately, the courts will decide.”
Additionally, SGI will be suing McKay.
“We haven’t launched that action yet,” he said.
The Industrial Kitchen and Bar is no longer in business. The former owner did not return calls from the Leader-Post.
The former owners of Crackers Licensed Cocktail and Dining Room could not be reached for comment. (The current owners took over eight months ago and do not appear to be named in the lawsuit.)
According to SGI, more than 600 people have been killed and more than 4,000 have been injured in collisions involving alcohol in the past 10 years in Saskatchewan.