Sports bar reaches $1 million settlement in wrongful death suit

By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Austell sports bar has agreed to pay $1 million to the widow of a 36-year-old man killed by a patron who drove while intoxicated.

The Sports Grill agreed to a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit after a Cobb County judge sanctioned the bar for destroying four hours of videotape that showed the patron, William Paul Davis IV, drinking.

Cuneyt Erturk, a Turkish immigrant, was driving home from a local Domino's Pizza where he worked as a night manager on Oct. 25, 2008 when he was struck and killed by a car driven by Davis.

His widow, Truvilla Erturk, filed a lawsuit claiming that staff members overserved Davis when they should have known he would drive home. The Sports Grill denied the allegation in court documents. The parties reached a settlement on July 15, an attorney for the widow announced Tuesday.

"While the drunk driver has accepted responsibility for his conduct, The Sports Grill has yet to acknowledge its role in causing Mr. Erturk's death, or to even offer an apology," said attorney Lloyd Bell, who represented Erturk's widow. "Hopefully, this result will encourage other bar and restaurant owners to act responsibly and to think twice before over-serving alcohol to their customers."

Robb Cruse, a lawyer for The Sports Grill, did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.

Cobb County State Court Judge Toby Prodgers in May sanctioned the bar for destroying over four hours of videotape that might have proved the plaintiff's case. Prodgers also found evidence that The Sports Grill destroyed the tabs for two customers who were with Davis and the "spill sheet" that recorded complimentary drinks to patrons that night.

"It is particularly disturbing that The Sports Bar would permit the destruction of the subject evidence after it became aware that a patron to whom it had been serving alcohol was involved in a fatal crash after leaving its premises," Prodgers wrote in his decision.

Prodgers sanctioned The Sports Grill by restricting its lawyers from introducing any evidence to contradict the claim that bartenders served alcohol to Davis while he was already drunk. The ruling would have severely handicapped the defense if the case had gone to trial.

Davis, 28, is awaiting trial on charges of driving without headlights, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and first-degree vehicular homicide.