Jury finds bar liable in teens' deaths

PALMER -- A jury awarded between $1.5 and $2 million in damages Thursday in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the four parents of two teen-aged boys killed after buying alcohol from Del Rois Bar and Liquor in the Butte.

The case in Palmer Superior Court involved the June 25, 1996, deaths of Palmer residents Justin Vaughn and Robert Walker, both 17. They died after being tossed from a four-wheeler about 5 a.m., a few hours after rum and beer was purchased at Del Rois.

"We are thankful the jury did what's right because with these damages we hope to put the bar out of business to protect the community," said attorney Phillip Paul Weidner, who was joined by co-counsel Victor Kester to represent parents William P. and Donna Walker.

"I don't know if they've got that money or not. We have to do an asset search and then begin to execute on assets. We intend to collect the judgment to the fullest extent possible, however we recognize that since the bar had no insurance it will be difficult."

The bar, owned by Rose Gama -- the former Rose Sowinski -- and Ray McGill was found to be 35 percent liable for the deaths.

The jury found "clear and convincing evidence" that Del Rois provided alcohol to a minor "with reckless indifference to the interests, rights or safety of another person," according to the verdict form.

The jury found Justin Vaughn 25 percent liable because he was driving the four-wheeler. Robert Walker, his passenger, received 2 percent liability from the jury.

Attorney Charles Coe, who represented parents Donald L. and Donna Vaughn, said the bar should assume the liability assigned to the teens because it sold to minors. Coe said he and Weidner have filed court papers seeking that ruling from Judge Beverly Cutler but no date for a decision has been set.

Gama, interviewed Friday, stuck to her position that the bar did nothing wrong.

"I claim we never sold," she said, declining to comment further.

Defense attorney Andrew Robinson argued during the trial that inconsistencies clouded the case. For example, he said the surviving passenger on the four-wheeler said they'd purchased Bacardi 151 -- a type of rum not sold at Del Rois. He also questioned why the empty bottle and beer cans were not found.

Coe believes the trial's turning point came Tuesday when former Valley resident Andy Doucette testified. Doucette, the plaintiffs' final witness, was a minor in 1996. He told the jury he and Justin Vaughn purchased alcohol from Del Rois shortly before the deaths occurred.

"He sealed the case for us," Coe said.

The jury's decision gave 28 percent liability for the deaths to Raone Bingham and her son, Carl Eugene Bingham, for having strung a cable across a path near their home to keep vehicles out. The boys' four-wheeler ran into that cable, ejecting them and another passenger who survived.

Weidner said the Binghams previously settled with the families for their part in the deaths.

Two percent liability was given to Sandra K. Cancel-Shell and 1 percent apiece was assigned to her sons, John D. Cancel and Emanuel J. Cancel. They allegedly provided beer for the teens at a party at the Knik River before the crash.

The Vaughn parents received 5 percent liability and the Walker parents 1 percent. Weidner said motions have been filed challenging those results.

Weidner said the 62 percent liability he and Coe believe must be shouldered by the bar owners also incurs 10.5 percent annual interest since the suit was filed years ago. Also, 10 percent is added for attorneys' fees.

Coe estimated the amount to be split between the families is between $2 million and $2.2 million. Money was not the motivation for filing the suit, according to the parents and their attorneys.

"We don't expect to see a dime out of them," Don Vaughn said. "Our whole thing from the beginning was to make sure it never happens again. It's just a bad place, with the history of serving minors."

Weidner, the Walkers' attorney, added, "It's not about money. It's about the safety of our youth. The Walkers and the Vaughns still mourn the loss of their teen-age sons and hope that no other families will have to suffer from the illegal sale of alcohol to minors."

He called the decision "an appropriate judgment" and said "we are thankful to the court and the jury that justice is being done."

Weidner, Coe and the parents all said they planned to give a percentage of any money recovered to Mothers Against Drunk Driving or a similar organization to help fight drunk driving.

Contact Steve Kadel at steve.kadel@frontiersman.com.