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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Woman Can’t Sue Illinois|Tavern Under Iowa Law

(CN) - An Iowa woman who claims a drunk man bashed her car window with a golf club can't accuse an Illinois bar of violating Iowa law by serving him alcohol when he was clearly drunk, an Illinois appeals court ruled.

Brett Housley drank at the Rock Island Brewing Co. in Rock Island, Ill. He then got into a disagreement with a group that included Heather Banks, an Iowa resident.

The dispute traveled over the border into Davenport, Iowa, where it culminated in a parking lot. Housley smashed the rear window of Banks's car with a golf club, injuring Banks.

Banks sued the tavern under the Iowa Dram Shop Act, claiming it should have cut Housley off.

The trial court rejected the tavern's bid to dismiss, but the Ottawa-based Third District Court of Appeals reversed, ruling that Iowa law can't be applied to liquor sales in Illinois.

"To allow the application of the Iowa Dramshop Act in this case to the sale of alcohol by an Illinois corporation in its Illinois tavern would contravene the purpose of the Illinois Dramshop Act and allow extraterritorial dramshop liability," Judge William Holdridge wrote.

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