Catherine and Joseph Zak were just being sociable: when Donald Gwinnell visited their Long Branch, N.J., home, they served him Scotch. He drove offand into a head-on collision with Marie Kelly. Seriously injured, Kelly sued Gwinnell. But then Gwinnell joined her in a separate suit against the Zaks, claiming they were responsible for giving him too much booze and permitting him to drive away.
In a surprising 6-to-1 decision last week, New Jersey's supreme court ruled that the Zaks could in fact be tried for negligence. However, the court limited the scope of its decision to instances where a sober...
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