Indiana court nullifies $39M verdict vs. OSI

Nation's Restaurant News,  Nov 20, 2006  

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Indianapolis -- The Indiana Supreme Court has overturned a $39 million verdict against Outback Steakhouse Inc., now known as OSI Restaurant Partners Inc., from a 2003 trial involving a Muncie, Ind., Outback branch.

A customer there had consumed free and discounted drinks during the branch's 1997 grand opening and then drove his car into a motorcycle, severely injuring the couple riding it. An appeals court last year refused to overturn the verdict, but the Supreme Court reversed it by a 5-0 vote, noting that the plaintiff's attorney had failed to forewarn Outback's lawyers that a server would testify the driver was drunk. The high court ordered a new trial.

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