Opinion ID: 2054584
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of Crabtree's Visible Intoxication

Text: [¶ 26] Pursuant to the MLLA, a server who negligently serves liquor to a visibly intoxicated individual is liable for damages proximately caused by that individual's consumption of the liquor. Id. § 2506(2). To set forth a prima facie case for negligent service of liquor, a plaintiff must establish: (1) the defendant server [11] provided liquor to an intoxicated individual [12] by sale, gift, or any other means of furnishing liquor; (2) at the time of service, the individual was visibly intoxicated; [13] (3) the server actually knew or a reasonable and prudent person in similar circumstances would know that the person served was visibly intoxicated; and (4) the plaintiff's injuries were proximately caused by the negligent service of liquor to the intoxicated individual. Id. §§ 2503, 2506. [¶ 27] As the MLLA indicates, the proper inquiry is whether, at the time of service of alcohol, the person was visibly intoxicated. We agree with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that [e]vidence of apparent intoxication, or of elevated blood levels, at some later point in time does not, by itself, suffice to show that the [person's] intoxication was evident at the time the last drink was served. Douillard v. LMR, Inc., 433 Mass. 162, 740 N.E.2d 618, 621 (2001). While evidence of a person's later intoxication may be relevant to whether the person was visibly intoxicated when served, there necessarily must be some factual link between the two points in time. [¶ 28] There is no direct evidence of Crabtree's condition when he was served the glass of wine at the Cascade Inn. There is also no evidence establishing that Crabtree consumed any alcohol prior to his arrival at the Cascade Inn. Beaulieu relies upon Andrew Sparda's observations at the accident scene and Dr. Cohen's opinions based upon Sparda's observations to provide the necessary factual foundation. Even taking Sparda's testimony in the light most favorable to Beaulieu, however, a determination based on that testimony that Crabtree was visibly intoxicated at the time he was served the glass of wine would require a jury to speculate. [¶ 29] The contact at the accident scene between Sparda and Crabtree was brief. There is no evidence to link Crabtree's post-collision appearance and behavior to intoxication before he was served the wine or to Crabtree's conduct and appearance at the time of service. Other explanations for Crabtree's conduct after the collision, such as a collision-caused head injury or physical disability, are as consistent with the facts in evidence and also suggest nothing about Crabtree's appearance when he was served. See, e.g., Dudley v. Hannaford Bros. Co., 190 F.Supp.2d 69, 71-72 (D.Me.2002) (plaintiff's physical disability mimicked intoxication); see also Green, 673 A.2d at 219 (holding summary judgment appropriate when the facts in evidence supported another plausible theory, not the plaintiff's theory of the case). [¶ 30] Furthermore, because the specific time of events preceding the accident is unclear, an hour and a half or more may have lapsed between the service of wine and Sparda's observations. The parties' statements of material fact do not reveal whether Crabtree was served wine before or after he was seated for dinner at 8:10 p.m. Additionally, although the evidence indicates that Crabtree left the restaurant at 9:00 p.m., there is no evidence indicating precisely when he drove his car from the parking lot or when the accident occurred. [14] In light of the potential gap between Sparda's observations and the service of wine, a link between the two points in time is tenuous at best and therefore cannot provide the foundation for a conclusion that Crabtree exhibited visible signs of intoxication when he was served. [¶ 31] When there is so little evidence tending to show a critical element of a plaintiff's claim that the jury would have to speculate in order to return a verdict for the plaintiff, a defendant is entitled to a summary judgment. See Houde v. Millett, 2001 ME 183, ¶ 11, 787 A.2d 757, 759; Merriam v. Wanger, 2000 ME 159, ¶ 10, 757 A.2d 778, 781. [¶ 32] Dr. Cohen's analysis, which relies upon Sparda's observations, cannot provide the necessary link in the evidence. Maine Rule of Evidence 705 [15] permits an expert to testify in terms of an opinion or inference without first testifying to the facts underlying that opinion. M.R. Evid. 705(a). If an adverse party objects to the testimony on the ground that the expert possesses an insufficient basis for expressing an opinion, and a prima facie case is made that the expert does not have a sufficient basis for an opinion, the opinion is inadmissible unless the proponent of the testimony first establishes the underlying facts or data. M.R. Evid. 705(b). [¶ 33] In arriving at his conclusion that Crabtree probably appeared intoxicated at the time he was served at the Cascade Inn, Dr. Cohen first estimated Roy Crabtree's blood alcohol content at the scene of the accident to be well over the legal limit, based on Andrew Sparda's observations and the totality of the circumstances. Dr. Cohen then opined that consumption of a typical four or five ounce glass of table wine, without any other consumption of alcohol, would have only a slight impairment effect on a person Crabtree's size. Based on this conclusion, Dr. Cohen determined that for Crabtree to have exhibited signs of intoxication at the time of the accident such as slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, Crabtree's blood alcohol level must have been in excess of .10% at the time he went to the Cascade Inn and, therefore, he must have exhibited outward signs of intoxication while at the Cascade Inn. [¶ 34] The Superior Court properly determined Dr. Cohen's opinion to be inadmissible because there are no facts in evidence on which to apply the theory to the case at hand. Green, 673 A.2d at 218. First, the point of origin of Dr. Cohen's extrapolation is not based upon a known quantity. There was no evidence in the record that Crabtree consumed any alcohol other than the glass of wine at the Cascade Inn. Nor was there a blood alcohol test or even a scent of alcohol at the scene of the accident that Dr. Cohen could use as a starting point to deduce Crabtree's probable blood alcohol level and, therefore, level of impairment when served. In other cases where this type of expert extrapolation, or relation-back testimony, has been permitted, the intoxicated individual's blood alcohol content was known. See, e.g., Adamy v. Ziriakus, 92 N.Y.S.2d 396, 681 N.Y.S.2d 463, 704 N.E.2d 216, 218 (1998); Bruce v. K.K.B., Inc., 52 S.W.3d 250, 255 (Tex.Ct.App.2001). [¶ 35] Additionally, Dr. Cohen's extrapolation and ultimate determination that Crabtree was probably visibly intoxicated at the Cascade Inn is based upon the average person's reaction to excessive alcohol consumption. However, there is no evidence in the record concerning Crabtree's normal reaction to alcohol and, therefore, no way to compare his actions and appearance with that of a normal reaction to alcohol. Cf. Douillard, 740 N.E.2d at 621-22 (blood alcohol test results, combined with specific information concerning the intoxicated person's normal reaction to excessive alcohol consumption and expert's opinion regarding the normal reaction to excessive alcohol consumption, was sufficient to survive summary judgment). As courts in other jurisdictions have reasoned, this link is necessary because some individuals hold their liquor better than others. Id. at 622 (Assuming, without deciding, that the problem of individual variability in response to alcohol prevents a plaintiff from relying exclusively on expert opinion to make out a case of apparent intoxication.). See, e.g., Reed v. Foster, 130 Idaho 74, 936 P.2d 1316, 1320 (1997); Purchase v. Meyer, 108 Wash.2d 220, 737 P.2d 661, 665 & n. 12 (1987). Without that link, there is no way to apply Dr. Cohen's opinion to the facts in this case. See Duchaine v. Fortin, 159 Me.313, 318, 192 A.2d 473, 476 (1963) (When it is sought to establish a case upon inferences drawn from facts, it must be from facts proven. Inferences based on mere conjecture or probabilities will not support a verdict.); see also Parker v. Hohman, 250 A.2d 698, 702 (Me.1969) (opinion may not be based upon surmise or conjecture), quoted in Green, 673 A.2d at 218. The Superior Court properly excluded Dr. Cohen's opinion on the grounds that it lacked a sufficient factual basis. [¶ 36] Because Dr. Cohen's opinion lacks a sufficient factual foundation and is therefore inadmissible, and the record is completely devoid of any other evidence establishing that Crabtree was visibly intoxicated at the time he was served the glass of wine at the Cascade Inn, the Superior Court properly granted summary judgment for the Cascade Inn. [16] The entry is: Judgments affirmed.