DALLAS – A state district jury recently determined that a local nightclub bears some responsibility for a 2012 fatal drunk driving accident involving two Dallas Cowboys players and awarded a $25 million verdict to the mother and the estate of the deceased.
Jurors on Dec. 13 found Beamers Nightclub to be 48 percent responsible for the collision in Irving which killed ex-NFL linebacker Jerry Brown, Jr. The jury also laid 48 percent of the blame on Brown’s best friend and former Cowboys teammate, Josh Brent, who was behind the wheel intoxicated with the decedent as his passenger on the night of Dec. 8, 2012.
Stacey Jackson and Brown’s estate initiated legal action against the now-defunct Beamers, its managing entity, and Brent in the Dallas County 191st District Court five years ago, originally seeking nearly $100 million in damages. The defendants reportedly owe her equal parts of the multimillion-dollar verdict.
Beamers and its management company had asserted that the 30-year-old Brent was not intoxicated when he arrived or when he left the establishment.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Jackson intends to donate some of the $25 million to a nonprofit organization dedicated to her son.
One of Jackson’s attorneys said that she hopes the verdict compels bars “to do (bottle service) safely.”
Dallas County 191st District Court Case No. DC-13-13245