This Florida Drunk Driving Verdict is Just Nuts

Some verdicts are just nuts (sorry to some of my friends who don't think plaintiff's lawyers should criticize any verdict.)

The case is tragic but the verdict is crazy.

In Florida, two drunk kids get into a car and the car crashes into a tree. One teenager dies and the other is paralyzed.

According to court documents, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School was partially negligent in the accident that killed Michael Sánchez-Agramonte and left Gabriel Maynoldi in a wheelchair.

The sue everyone, including their private high school, whose faculty knew about the party and didn't alert police.

They also sued a bunch of other people, including the person who bought the alcohol.

Let me understand this... they voluntarily drank..they voluntarily broke the law...they voluntarily got into a car and crashed it into a tree.

Tragic...but they didn't hurt anyone but themselves.

Verdicts like this (and its not the jury's fault, apparently Florida has some very liberal laws) hurt everyone because they make a great story for tort reformers to tell to condem us all.

This case would never have seen the light of day in Virginia. Our laws are tough on drunks and on the folks who get into the cars with drunks. There would be zero liability to a school who knew about the party in advance and even zero liability for the person who bought the alcohol because the kids voluntarily drank it.