Dram Shop Insurance News

In Horak v. Argosy Gaming Co., 2002 WL 1559095 (Iowa July 17, 2002), Leticia Morales, after an evening of drinking before boarding and while aboard the BELLE of SIOUX CITY, died in a one-car accident, during which her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. Her three children sued the riverboat casino's owner, Argosy Gaming Company, under the state's dramshop statute, under which comparative fault/apportionment of negligence rules do not apply. In other words, unlike under traditional maritime law comparative fault rules, Morales' own negligence, if any, would not reduce her surviving children's recovery.