Jackie Faircloth: Supreme Court justices weigh case against Florida bar accused of serving minors before crash
Images show Jackie Faircloth before and after the crash.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in a case involving catastrophic injuries suffered by an 18-year-old woman after two Tallahassee bars served underage drinkers.
The guardian for Jacquelyn Faircloth went to the Supreme Court last year after a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected a $28.6 million judgment in the case, siding with operators of Potbelly’s, a bar near the Florida State University campus.
Justices Thursday appeared skeptical of arguments aimed at overturning the appeals-court decision.
Faircloth was injured when she was hit by a pickup truck in 2014 while crossing a street about 2 a.m., according to court records. The driver of the truck, 20-year-old Devon Dwyer, had been drinking at Potbelly’s, while Faircloth had been drinking at another establishment, Cantina 101.
Pictured: Jackie Faircloth before the crash.
Dwyer, who left the scene of the crash, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison followed by eight years of probation after pleading no contest and cutting a deal with the state.
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Faircloth’s guardian filed a lawsuit against owners of both businesses, alleging that they illegally served alcohol to underage people and caused the accident.
File: Potbelly's bar in Tallahassee
David Sales, attorney for Jacquelyn Faircloth’s guardian stated, "It’s the legislature’s policy in this state that minors shouldn’t drink at all, since 1935. It certainly is the policy of this state that they shouldn’t be intoxicated. That’s why there is a consequence for the bar who acts willfully and unlawfully."
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Raoul Cantero, an attorney for the bar owners, urged justices to find the case involved negligence, rather than the bar having caused the injury intentionally.
Pictured: Jackie Faircloth after the crash
"Minors need to understand that there is some responsibility on them, not to violate the law themselves, in order to obtain alcohol," Cantero said.
The Supreme Court typically takes months before it issues rulings.