High court to consider whether party hosts were negligent

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By OSKAR GARCIA / The Associated Press

OMAHA — The Nebraska Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case that has rekindled debate about the responsibilities of hosts who provide alcohol at parties.

The high court will hear arguments April 3 in a case involving whether a Denton couple should pay their adult stepson, who was paralyzed from the neck down after drinking at their home and then hitting his head on the side of their pool.

Lawyers for James Dondlinger said in court documents that the day of drinking alcohol created a “dangerous mix” when combined with after-dark swimming in an unfamiliar pool.

But a Lancaster County district judge ruled that Walter and Kimberly Dondlinger weren’t negligent.

“No one can look at the facts of this accident and not have some sympathy for James,” lawyers for Walter and Kimberly Dondlinger wrote in a brief in the case. “But sometimes accidents happen, and no one is at fault.”

According to court documents, the accident happened at a party during Labor Day weekend of 2005. James Dondlinger, who was 37 at the time, partially entered the pool and pushed off the side. He drifted to the other side of the pool and hit his head, fracturing his neck.

His lawyer, Clete Blakeman, said a combination of factors — including alcohol — led to the accident but were judged by the lower court separately from one another.

Blakeman said alcohol, along with darkness, unfamiliarity with the pool and the potential for injury should be considered whether they combined to create the danger.

“I don’t think there’s any black or white uniform rule that can mount from this, more of what’s reasonable and what isn’t in the eyes of a jury,” he said.

The couple’s lawyer, Randall Goyette, declined to comment on the case.

Nebraska’s current law for party hosts was passed last year and applies only to adults who give liquor to underage people. The law makes them liable for damages or injuries caused by intoxication, but only if the intoxication was caused by negligence.