West Virginia Bar, Driver Ordered to Pay $400,000 in Damages

A Kanawha County, W.Va. jury ordered a bar owner and a man convicted of drunken driving to pay nearly $400,000 in damages in a fatal highway accident.

The circuit court jury’s verdict came Oct. 7 in a lawsuit filed in 2002 by Michael Landers of South Charleston against Frank’s Place owner James Frank Jarrett and Robert A. Lanham.

Landers’ mother was one of three people killed when a car driven by Lanham collided with another vehicle on State Route 21 in February 2000. The accident occurred after Lanham left the bar.

He later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and causing death while driving under the influence.

Jurors ordered Lanham to pay $128,179 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages. The bar was ordered to pay $220,000 in compensatory damages.
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Information from: Charleston Daily Mail,
http://www.dailymail.com