$105M verdict vs. Aramark makes operators rethink methods for training workers

By Paul King

(Feb. 7) - While Aramark Corp. prepares to appeal a $105 million judgment recently levied against it in a case involving a 1999 drunk-driving accident that left a young girl paralyzed, operators industrywide are examining the efficacy of their alcohol server training programs.

Though many concessionaires were reluctant to discuss the ruling, several admitted that the huge financial award — believed to be one of the largest ever in terms of gross value — had given them reason to pause, especially as it underlined the phenomenon of escalating monetary penalties in drunk-driving-related lawsuits.

Gael Doar, spokeswoman for Spartanburg, S.C.-based Centerplate, said, "The issue concerns us greatly." And Rick Abramson, president of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Sportservice, called the verdict "a real wake-up call."

He added: "We concessionaires all do [alcohol server] training that emphasizes the importance of responsible alcohol management, but this will make you think twice about how strong your program is. There has to be a message of zero tolerance of alcohol abuse at any of our facilities, or this could happen to any of us."

Aramark's punishment was part of a $135 million award recently bestowed by an eight-member jury in Hackensack, N.J., on the family of Antonia Verni. Verni was left a quadriplegic in October 1999 after a drunk driver, on his way home after a New York Giants football game, crashed into the family's car, seriously injuring both her and her mother.

The Vernis sued driver Daniel Lanzaro, Aramark, the Giants, the National Football League and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, arguing that Lanzaro had been able to purchase beers at the Oct. 24, 1999, game even after he had become legally intoxicated.

At the trial the Vernis' attorney, David Mazie, presented evidence showing that an Aramark vendor had disregarded rules against selling customers more than two beers at a time. Mazie argued that the vendor accepted a $10 bribe to sell Lanzaro six beers during the game's halftime. After halftime vendors are prohibited from selling beer to patrons at NFL games.

A blood-alcohol test given to Lanzaro an hour after the crash recorded a blood alcohol content of 0.266 percent. In 1999 the legal limit for intoxication was 0.10 percent.The limit since has been reduced to 0.08 percent.

The jury found Aramark, the concessionaire at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., liable for $30 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages for its part in serving beer to Lanzaro, who was deemed visibly intoxicated, during the football game.

Lanzaro, an admitted alcoholic, also was found culpable but avoided damages at the trial because he had settled earlier with the Verni family.

The Giants, the NFL and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority also settled out of court with the family before the trial began.

Deborah Albert, spokeswoman for Philadelphia-based Aramark, said the company was "disappointed by the size of the award, and we intend to appeal."

Jim Boudreau, senior vice president of risk management for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, said the incident points to the need for stronger alcohol server training.

"We believe there is a need for a stronger culture of compliance," Boudreau said. "And it's not just the servers who need to be trained. Our research is showing that anyone who comes into contact with a customer — hostess, buspersons, valets — should be trained as well."

Abramson agreed with Boudreau's assessment. "It's not just the concessionaire's problem," he said. "It's the ushers, security, stand attendants; we're all in it together."

Boudreau, who noted that the Chicago-based Educational Foundation is preparing to roll out a new alcohol server program to replace its Bar Code training, said a growing number of operators have expressed concern about their role in protecting the public from drunken patrons.

"Insurance companies are telling us premiums and deductibles are getting higher. Judgments are rising precipitously," he explained. "There were at least three critical cases last year with awards in a $20 million to $40 million range, and that is distressing to us. On top of that, dram-shop laws are increasing servers' liability."

Fred Del Marva, a forensic investigator who testified as an expert witness in the Aramark case, said he feels the incident proves that there are no shortcuts when it comes to alcohol server training. He said the testimony at the trial indicated that not enough of Aramark's employees were trained properly, there were not enough supervisors in place to monitor servers and there were no rules in place for how to handle servers who violate company or stadium policy.

"Even in the hundreds of instances cited where Aramark employees violated service rules, nobody was ever fired," he said.

Aramark refused to comment on any specifics of the case.

Del Marva added that part of the problem is the training programs, many of which lack depth.

"The NRA's Bar Code program is four to five hours," he noted. "Most others are only one to two hours, and there is one that is only 30 minutes. That is reckless and irresponsible."

Boudreau said the NRAEF's new program, Serv-Safe Alcohol, will differ from the Bar Code in at least two major areas. First, it will include increased training in the checking of consumers' IDs. Second, it entails a video-based approach to teaching people how to read signs of intoxication and how to handle the people exhibiting those signs.