Justice Served?

Philadelphia-based contractor Aramark Corp. will appeal a Bergen County, N.J., verdict that it pay $105 million to the family of Antonia Verni, crippled in a 1999 auto accident involving Daniel Lanzaro, who had consumed 14 beers at a New York Giants football game before causing the accident. The jury

"We are greatly saddened by the injuries that Antonia suffered," Aramark said in a statement. "We believe strongly that many factors contributed to the accident."

The case reinforces operators' responsibility to educate employees on safe alcoholic-beverage service. "Companies need to increase the frequency and breadth of training to include all employees. Education is not limited to the cashier," says Stephen Barth, founder of Houston-based HospitalityLawyer.com .

Differences between service at stadiums and restaurants also come into play, says Alisa Pittman, attorney at Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & Wilson LLP, an Atlanta-based law firm specializing in the hospitality industry. "The restaurant customer has one server who can monitor behavior. It's easy to cut the guest off because the waiter has control," she says. "At a stadium, the vendor or cashier has 30 seconds to make a judgment about the customer. If the guest is refused service, he can get a friend to buy the beer, or go to another outlet. The case puts an impossible pressure on vendors."