Nick and Jake’s restaurant has been hit with a personal injury lawsuit alleging a bartender over-served a man who crashed his motorcycle shortly after leaving the Parkville establishment.
According to court documents, Richard Porter of Smithville was already intoxicated when he entered Nick and Jake’s with Kathryn Nash, 32, of Lee’s Summit, on July 22, 2017. The lawsuit contends Porter was acting “belligerent” and showed clear signs of his intoxication. The lawsuit says an on-duty manager warned the 39-year-old about his disruptive “intoxicated behavior” shortly after he took a seat inside the bar.
Still, Nick and Jake’s bartender proceeded to serve defendant Porter multiple alcoholic drinks, including a shot of whiskey,” the suit alleges. After consuming the adult beverages, Porter and Nash left the restaurant on his motorcycle.
Porter reportedly drove in an “erratic and reckless manner,” weaving in and out of traffic and ignoring traffic signals at several intersections.
The lawsuit alleges “Porter was traveling 20-30 miles per hour over the speed limit on 45 Highway as he approached a roundabout at K Highway.”
Porter and Nash made it three miles from the restaurant before Porter struck the curb of the roundabout, throwing Nash about 40 feet in the air, the suit says.
Nash suffered “severe and permanent injuries” due to the single-vehicle collision, the lawsuit say.
Kathryn Nash is represented by Brian McCart with The Law Offices of Brian Timothy Meyers of Kansas City.
The lawsuit contends Porter was visibly intoxicated when he was served additional intoxicating beverages.
Under state alcohol laws, a person who has suffered personal injury can file a lawsuit against “any person licensed to sell intoxicating liquor by the drink for consumption on the premises when it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the seller knew or should have known that intoxicating liquor was served to a person under the age of twenty-one years or knowingly served intoxicating liquor to a visibly intoxicated person.”
Nash is suing Nick and Jake’s and Richard Porter, claiming their negligence was the “actual or proximate cause of the motorcycle accident.”
She is seeking compensation for medical expenses, past and future loss of earning, and pain and suffering.