Last Call

You're sound asleep, but being wrested from dreamland by the piercing cry of the alarm clock. You roll over, bring your fist down upon the snooze button, but the clamor won't stop. Then you remember ? your alarm clock doesn't ring. Must be the phone. It's pitch black in your room and you feel as if you've been in bed for only a few hours.


You clear your throat, reach for the phone, and get ready to bark obscenities at the imbecile who dialed the wrong number. But it's your boss.


She says there was an accident. A man is dead. Hit by a drunk driver. Tragic, but what's this got to do with you?
The driver is your co-worker. He was at last night's cocktail reception. The one you planned. Your boss has already talked to her lawyer, who says the company should brace itself for a lawsuit. And so should you.


This is your worst nightmare. And you're wide awake.


Party's over


Think this can't happen to you? Part-time planners Nancy Cowan and Ed Stoner didn't think so either, until they were sued for $25 million in connection with a holiday party they helped to organize. A judge has since dismissed the case against them, but that ruling could be appealed. Here's how their nightmare began:


It was December 18, 1999, and holiday revelers from International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat), a communications provider based in Washington D.C., were making merry at an in-town hotel. They enjoyed the usual cocktails, food, and music, and when the party ended after five hours, many moved to a suite for an after-party. Among them was Ricardo Aspillaga, a computer technician for a firm hired by Intelsat. After about an hour or so, the 32-year-old Virginian took leave of the festivities and got into his car. Before reaching his final destination, somebody would die.


Police reports say a drunken Aspillaga sped through a red light and plowed into Seth Wadley, who was lawfully crossing the street. The 24-year old George Washington University law student died hours later. Subsequent tests revealed Aspillaga's blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.


Aspillaga pled guilty to manslaughter and is doing two to six years behind bars, but to the grieving parents of Seth Wadley, that doesn't even hint at justice. To avenge their son's violent and untimely passing, they did what's becoming commonplace in cases like this?they sued Aspillaga to the tune of $25 million. And then they went a step further.


Donna and Alfred Wadley slapped Intelsat and party planners