An Alabama jury delivered a $112 million verdict Thursday against Inspire Brands — parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings — finding the restaurant chain liable for the wrongful death of a 34-year-old man killed by a visibly intoxicated patron who had consumed 14 drinks at a Birmingham-area location before driving the wrong way on Interstate 459.
The case centers on Alabama’s Dram Shop Act, which allows victims of alcohol-related accidents to sue the establishment that served the intoxicated person. Alabama is one of 43 states with some form of dram shop liability law.
The Facts
On October 14, 2024, Donald Petersen consumed 14 alcoholic drinks over a three-hour period at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Hoover, Alabama. Receipts entered into evidence showed he ordered two double bourbon shots within 10 minutes of his final bar tab. Despite being visibly intoxicated — witnessed by multiple patrons who told staff they were concerned — Petersen was not cut off and was allowed to drive away.
Petersen drove southbound on a northbound on-ramp onto I-459, traveling nearly two miles against traffic before striking the vehicle of Marcus Webb at highway speed. Webb, a high school football coach and father of three, died at the scene.
The Verdict Breakdown
The jury awarded $12 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages. Punitive awards of this scale are unusual under Alabama law, which caps punitives at three times compensatories for most torts. The jury’s note to the judge stated the punitive award was justified by “repeated, systemic failure to train staff on cut-off procedures and deliberate indifference to patron safety.”
Inspire Brands said it intends to appeal and called the punitive award “constitutionally excessive.”