D.C. United striker Charlie Davies has reportedly filed a $20 million lawsuit against the nightclub owner and party host that continued to serve alcohol to the woman that was behind the wheel on the night of the accident that tragically killed one passenger and severely injured Davies.
According to the Washington Post, Davies is filing his suit against Das Enterprises, the owner of the Shadow Room in Washington, D.C., and Red Bull North America, which hosted the party at the club a little more than two years ago.
The suit — which involves the company that owns the New York Red Bulls — claims that in addition to continuing to serve alcohol to Maria Alejandra Espinoza, the accident also caused permanent damage to Davies' body and altered his career path to the point that it prevented him from participating in the World Cup for the United States.
Here are a few more stories to get your day rolling:
CAPELLO HINTS TO ROONEY INCLUSION
There has been some speculation as to whether Wayne Rooney would be included on Fabio Capello's Euro 2012 squad after being banned for the first three games of the tournament. Speaking to reporters, Capello gave an indication of what he wants his squad to look like, and he seemed to hint that Rooney would be a part of it.
"The young players are really good and ready to play with the seniors, and the experience of the seniors is really important," Capello said. "During the games we need some leaders, people that know something. Jack Wilshere is incredible because he is so young. We also need the experience of John Terry, Rio Ferdianand and Scott Parker. You need this kind of player, plus Rooney, I hope."
GRONDONA KEEPS ARGENTINA POST
Even though he's come under scrutiny for alleged fraud and money laundering, Julio Grondona will remain president of the Argentine Football Association after winning re-election for his ninth term.
Grondona, 80, is a member of the FIFA executive committee, a close confidant to FIFA president Sepp Blatter and won unanimously to extend his reign to 2015.
RANGERS TOPS LIVERPOOL IN FRIENDLY
In a rare October club friendly between UK powers, Rangers defeated Liverpool, 1-0, Tuesday at the Ibrox Stadium.
Lee McCulloch scored the only goal in the 20th minute to lift the Scottish champions, as both teams trotted out reserve-heavy lineups.
U.S. national team winger Alejandro Bedoya started and played 64 minutes for Rangers, while Maurice Edu and Carlos Bocanegra were not part of the squad.
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What do you think of Davies' lawsuit? Think it's a no-brainer for Rooney to be included on the Euro roster? What do you think of Grondona remaining in power? Think Bedoya made the right choice by transferring to Rangers?
Share your thoughts below.
If you start your case with “choosing to get in a vehicle with someone who has been drinking,” then yes, that has a relation to the accident. And one that davies is accountable for.
But the curfew thing is irrelevant. Breaking team rules does not lead to auto accidents. It (possibly) leads to team chemistry issues. That’s the only significant consequence of breaking that particular team rule.
What the hell does being “a God-fearing man” have to do with anything?
I never thought that much of him. But, I missed all of the 09 Confed Cup because of work.
You’re dumb. Stop talking.
+1 thank you.
0 chance huh? your an idiot
+1
Ya following the law is only important for some people. Certainly not the pius bartender
+1 Its a joke how everyone on this site imminently jumped on Davies with no more than a brief statement on a blog.
you can still like him, I do. If people are really liking or disliking athletes based on morality than thats crazy. Van Persie is my favorite player (non USA) and he raped a prostitute.
? This commment I think exemplifies how little people understand about civil suits in this country. The point of the lawsuit is she was visibly intoxicated and still being served alcohol. Lets pretend it wasn’t Davies breaking curfew, which has nothing to do with the bartender, the bartender is liable in DC and many other places around the US. You can make the argument “I wish more people got into car accidents so they would be accountable for their actions” but personally I disagree. On top of the fact that there is probably a lot of information we are not aware of.
Ugh… really? So, breaking team rules, going out and drinking, choosing to get in a vehicle with someone who has been drinking has no relation to the accident? You mean the fact that he should have been back at the hotel resting means little to this situation? Good logic!
I don’t agree with the whole “the lady who got burned by McD’s coffee had a merit”
Who in their right mind thinks coffee is not hot? I mean someone said doctors said that was the worst burn from a liquid they had seen, that had to had been challenged in court, I can think of a lot of liquids that had caused more damage and I’m sure there are HUNDREDS of incidents in which boiling water of some sort has caused WAY worst damage.
I guess Starbucks and every coffee house in America could be exposed to law suits since they serve drinks at about 150-160 degrees all the time, and as someone who worked at a Starbucks I can tell you people ask for 180, some even 190 degree lattes all the time and the milk batch is still used for other drinks.
I don’t recall how hot exactly is the water for tea but I think it was around 170?
People should have better common sense, is like the robber who sued the person he was robbing for something that happened to him from robbing the poor guy in the 1st place? I don’t recall if it was an injury due to condition of the house or what but it was unbelievable..
I know that, but he pretended he was driving to protect the teammate who really was driving, aka lied to the police.
I just don’t get it.
1. We only know what the articles says, which is to say we don’t know all the facts.
2. Davies has agents family friends and yes lawyers that i’m sure he has consulted about this with, he must have discussed the potential fallout and decided it was worth pursuing. We do not know the details of those conversations
3. He’ll either win or he won’t or there will be a settlement.
None of it can’t change the past.
When will we know about the merit of this lawsuit? once it’s public record and we can see what evidence and testimony is presented.
Until then, whatever happened to giving a guy the benefit of the doubt and reserving judgement until we actually know anything?
put another way, HOW LONG ARE PEOPLE GOING TO CONTINUE TO PUNISH HIM FOR SOMETHING HE’S ALREADY PAYING FOR?
I think he shared it….
Really? I thought you’d be all, “she should take some responsibility for herself as a US citizen and learn English while I wrap myself in my superiority blah blah blah”
your a$$-hol-ish-ness is breathtaking…
could we sell tickets to that event?
they also seem to think breaking curfew is punishable by near-death.
Good one. Because of Davies loss of potential earnings and place on WC team he’s going to dive in head first on this.
Get over the curfew thing. None of the moral/legal consequences of the auto accident go back to breaking curfew.
You might as well cite his decision circa 1992 to start playing soccer. That’s what really led to this whole mess in the first place.
agreed. I have lost respect for charlie davies…
I had no idea I had been so manipulated by the right wing…
The great thing about this country is that you and I have the ability to discuss things openly, despite a difference of opinion. That said, may I suggest dropping the patronizing line about the civilized nation?
I think what you are underestimating is the affect that a frivolous lawsuit has on the parties involved. One, being named in such a suit is a traumatic experience, not to mention potentially damaging to one’s professional reputation. Two, there is a tangible financial cost to defend yourself, even if the case is thrown out, with little to no accountability on the plaintiff or his/her representation. So yeah, maybe it is rare for such a suit to win, but even when the suit fails, there are losses on both sides.
not if there were Red Bull personnel on site. and of course, it depends on whether the plaintiffs can prove a consistent pattern of negligence among events sponsored by Red Bull.
The dead girl’s family has filed their own lawsuit. Notice that you didn’t hear anything about that, did you?
Depends on DC law.
Remember… This is a city that, until yesterday was arresting people for expired tags.
And another point: we should count ourselves lucky that in this country we have an open and robust system where people can hold wrongdoers accountable. That, Dan, is the definition of a civilized nation.
Political rant over.
Well, Dan, your comment represented a complete misunderstanding of fact and was merely a recitation of a piece of right-wing propaganda that has been used for years to manipulate the public… so you got (rightfully) called out on it.
As for what constitutes a frivolous lawsuit: a lawsuit that is not grounded in law or has no merit. We have no way to judge whether Davies’ suit is meritorious or not. If, in fact, it is not meritorious, either the suit will be dismissed or terminated pre-trial or Davies will not prevail at trial. It is the extraordinarily rare occasion that someone wins a “frivolous” lawsuit.
I think the Red Bull portion of the lawsuit will be thrown out. If Red Bull used the bar as a subcontractor I don’t think they have liability.
While I appreciate the detailed update on the state of the McD’s lawsuit, and agree it may not be the best example, the general point of my post still stands, there are far too many frivolous lawsuits in this country.
Man, nothing slips by anyone on this site…
Love Davies but what a moron. 0 shot of winning this case and I hope he loses…take responsibility for your actions jerk. He was aware of what he was doing that night-do not blame others.
Davies wasnt driving the car in France. Look it up.
I bet he has at least five million in liability insurance. at least. If not, he’s a fool.
and you know who does have 20 million? Red Bull.
her family has filed a similar suit, against the same people, for the same events. It seems likely they are at the least in contact, if not working together. Does that help? He may very well be doing this to add pressure to the Shadow Room and Red Bull to settle with them both, Charlie has more leverage, more resources, and a higher profile.
Seriously, if you were the Shadow Room or Red Bull, would you care about a suit from a random woman killed in a car wreck? her family filed suit as well, notice SBI didn’t write a piece about that.
All I am saying is that poor spelling and grammar diminish good points. I agree with all of her thoughts, she just typed them so poorly.
Are you trying to bait me with your use of “whin/whinning”?
So I’ve looked at the other comments above.
I agree that this person had a right to sue McDonalds. And I feel bad for this person’s burns.
My mistake. But the point everyone tried to make with this still stands.
There is still a problem in this country of blaming someone else for something which is someone’s own responsibility.
Person who sued McDonald’s = good
Charlie Davies trying to sue a bar for serving drinks = bad.
For the record, thanks for the info.
Please lose the handle. I used to love that song.
do’k …No need for enlightenment, I’m sure you know what I mean… sorry spelled your name backwards.
@PetedeLA, look up the court case before referencing it. your reference is way off based — see other comments above.
watch the documentary Hot Coffee. you’ll never use that reference again in the case of frivolous lawsuits.
Poor judgement on his part and I believe he has taken responsibility for it.
There are a few articles that state he didn’t know her all that well, she was actually his friends girlfriend. With that said, I think it has a lot to do with him taking legal action.
I’m assuming he just got in the car without knowing she was completely blasted, he was also very tipsy, so it’s not like he was fully functional to have stoped her from driving. Incidents like this happen so fast it clearly takes your mind out from making a wise decision. I believe his beef is that someone in the establishment knew she was hammered but continued to serve her drinks,… he then comes out of the bar and his boy let’s him know it’s time to go, so he then proceeds to get in the car without knowing his friends girlfriend is completely hammered… Keep in mind he was a bit blasted himself, so it’s not like he could make a good judgement whether she was ok to drive or not… I believe he assumed his friend was taking care of things.
Chuck D should sue his friend for letting his drunk girlfriend get behind the wheel if you ask me. I do agree he should just move on. Take responsibility and let it go.
I’ll continue to support Chuck D as long as he gets back to his scoring ways.
I don’t think the bar owner has 20 million and his insurance liability that covers that much. Maybe they’ll settle for 1 million. Have to love our legal system. Imagine being a bartender in a busy bar. Serving 100 drinks an hour and making sure people don’t get too drunk while working in an establishment people go to to get drunk.
nailed it on the head.
+1. I was all for Charlie and his recovery, but this lawsuit is sad.
the dude did not have a license. they were sober though.
Clown… Last time I checked anyone in this country can state their opinion. Learn the language? WTF? Spanish is the second most spoken language in the states and first most spoken language in the “new world”…. You really going to whin over what language someone should speak into perfection in a public forum?lol … This is a soccer forum, pretty sure more than half of the folks here have Latin roots…. You are going to end up punching your own face on this site because a lot of folks have English as their second language. Calm down with that noise.
I’m sick and tired of clowns constantly whinning over this.
You are right. I missed that sentence, and apparently don’t read very well. Sorry about that Mark.
Pels is the only Ambulance Chaser in sight.
I don’t have a (huge) problem with this type of case. However, I do hope that Charlie is planning on donating his potential “winnings” from this case to a worthy charity. I think that would be far better for him from both a PR and personal mindset angle.
I agree with what RNG wrote below: this lawsuit makes it seem like he’s giving up on his career. Accepting any money from this case would just reinforce that.
You should actually look at the McD’s hot coffee lawsuit, there was merit, burn drs stated the burns were the worst seen from any liquid burn, it was insanely hot.
As many have said, it is illegal to serve drunk persons in many states. I don’t know the details if she was visibly drunk or not, but I have had many friends that have gotten drunk driving arrests that were barely over the legal limit. They acted and functioned normally, but decided to drive before their BAC had fallen below legal limits. So it is possible she could have been legally drunk but not drunk enough to be cut off by the bar. That is the hard part for bars. Unless they give a breathalyzer to every patron for every drink, there will be some legally drunk patrons that don’t appear overly intoxicated. Thus unless they can prove that the bartender didn’t get the impression they were too drunk to be served (which is obviously hard to prove in a court of law), they kinda get screwed over.
Now if the person is obviously drunk and still gets served, that’s another issue.