Victims of deadly car crash settle dram shop claim for $5.4M

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Two bars that overserved a patron who caused a fatal car crash have agreed to pay almost $5.4 million to the victims of the crash, the victims’ attorneys report.

Chuck Dukes of RPWB in Mount Pleasant, Chris Moore and Terry Richardson of Richardson Thomas in Columbia, and John Moylan and Lucy Dinkins of Wyche Law Firm in Columbia report that they negotiated the confidential settlement on behalf of the victims of a January 2019 car crash that killed one person and left three others seriously injured.

The attorneys report that their clients were in downtown Charleston when their vehicle was broadsided by a drunk driver who had run a red light at the corner of Columbus Street and Meeting Street. One passenger, William Kappel, was killed instantly. His wife, Laura Kappel, suffered contusions and severe mental and emotional trauma and distress from watching her husband perish, Dukes said. 

Joseph Murray, who was driving, had to be extracted from the vehicle and suffered fractured ribs, a lacerated liver, a bruised lung, and a concussion. The other passenger, Jacqueline Zink, suffered blunt force trauma, several broken ribs, a fracture of her right hip, nerve damage to her left knee, muscle sprains, and contusions. 

Crash data revealed that the drunk driver, Cade Garris, had reached 74 mph in a 35 mph zone before he ran the red light. Receipts showed that he had been drinking at two downtown bars, and he had a BAC of more than twice the legal limit, Dukes said.

Garris was underinsured and his case was settled for $50,000. The bars paid the rest. One of the bars will donate $25,000 to a foundation started in honor of William Kappel, implement annual safe-service alcohol training for its staff, and lengthen its surveillance footage retention policy, Dukes said.

Zink and the Kappels had traveled to Charleston from Chicago to visit Murray, who had recently moved to Charleston from Chicago. The lawsuit was settled in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina based on diversity jurisdiction, and U.S. District Judge David C. Norton approved the settlement on Feb. 18.

William and Laura Kappel had been married for a year and had just bought their first house together, Dukes said. 

“It was an extremely heartbreaking case, as you can imagine,” Dukes said. “They had been out for several hours and had a designated driver. They did everything right and in a split second, it was all tragedy.”

Of the settlement funds, $4.85 million will go to Kappel and her husband’s estate, $265,000 will go to Zink, and $285,000 will go to Murray. Moylan and Dinkins represented Murray. 

Due to a confidentiality agreement, the names of the bars and their attorneys were unavailable. Trey Nicolette of Clawson and Staubes in Charleston, who represented Garris, declined to comment on the settlement. 

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzosclw

SETTLEMENT REPORT — DRAM SHOP

Amount: $5.4 million

Injuries alleged: Death; contusions and severe mental and emotional trauma and distress; fractured ribs, lacerated liver, bruised lung and concussion; blunt force trauma, broken ribs, right hip fracture, nerve damage muscle sprains, and contusions.

Case name: Withheld

Court: U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

Date of settlement: Feb. 18

Attorneys for plaintiff: Chuck Dukes of RPWB in Mount Pleasant, Chris Moore and Terry Richardson of Richardson Thomas in Columbia, and John Moylan and Lucy Dinkins of Wyche Law Firm in Columbia

Attorneys for defendants: Trey Nicolette of Clawson and Staubes in Charleston for the driver; the names of the defense counsel for the dram shop defendants were withheld