Owners of an Oregon bar are suing a former bartender for $115,000, claiming they lost that amount when the man broke Oregon Liquor Control Commission rules by drinking on the job last year, The Oregonian reported.
The bartender, Gunnar Hokan Jorstad, 25, will ask a Multnomah County Circuit judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the Barrel Room, The Oregonian reported. According to the lawsuit, the bar’s liquor license was suspended for 21 days, a ban that goes into effect Jan. 20.
Jorstad’s lawyer, Michael Fuller, said in a statement that the Barrel Room’s attempt to collect from Jostad is “frivolous” and “absurd,” the newspaper reported.
According to the lawsuit, Jorstad was drunk while serving customers at the Barrel Room on Jan. 13, 2018. As a result, the bar’s liquor license was suspended for 21 days, and the commission suspended Jorstad’s server’s license for 18 days, The Oregonian reported. Jorstad admitted he was intoxicated while serving customers, according to court documents.
Commission spokesman Matthew Van Sickle said a police officer noticed Jorstad in a highly intoxicated state outside the bar about 10 p.m. Jan. 13, 2018, the newspaper reported. Five hours later, police were called to remove Jorstad from the bar as he neared the end of a shift that started at 8 p.m., Van Sickle said.
Douglas Raab, a Portland attorney representing the Barrel Room, could not be reached for comment.
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