Blumenthal: Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun must obey liquor laws

Attorney general supports DUI lawsuit

By WILLIAM SOKOLIC

For The Norwich Bulletin

Posted Sep 14, 2009

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, in an amicus brief submitted Monday to the Connecticut Appellate Court, said tribal casinos are not immune from the state’s Dram Shop Act and other laws that bar reckless dispensing of alcohol.

He asked the court to overturn a February Superior Court ruling that held that tribal casinos are exempt from certain liquor laws intended to protect the public safety.

“Tribal sovereignty must yield to public health and safety laws — particularly liquor laws — intended to save lives,” Blumenthal said. “We must hold tribal casinos to their moral and legal duty to respect these laws. The tribes affirmatively agreed to obey public safety laws, and the

U.S. Supreme Court has ordered them to do so.”

Pedestrian hit

The brief was filed in support of Emily Vanstaen-Holland and her mother, Susan Holland, who are suing the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and others in connection with an accident in which Vanstaen-Holland, a pedestrian, was struck Oct. 13, 2007, by Glenn Lavigne, who was intoxicated after drinking at Mohegan Sun, according to authorities. Emily, 16 at the time, suffered life-altering injuries, including a broken pelvis, a lost spleen and loss of her sense of smell.

Lavigne will be sentenced in criminal court today, according to attorney Robert I. Reardon Jr.

“This case carries profound consequences for victims of drunk driving crashes involving casino patrons,” Blumenthal said. “Lives have been lost or damaged by intoxicated drivers leaving tribal casinos. Intoxicated drivers must be held accountable, but tribal casinos must also accept responsibility for illegal and irresponsible alcohol sales just like other bars.”

Reardon, Vanstaen-Holland’s lawyer, says sovereignty does not apply in these cases.

“If the tribe received a liquor permit from the state to dispense liquor, they also should be expected to adhere to dram shop laws,” he said. “You cannot have it both ways. The tribe should comply with the same laws as other bars in the state.”

The Mohegan Tribe disagrees, said Chuck Bunnell, tribal chief of staff.

“The Connecticut Superior Court rightly determined that the state’s authority to regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol is not tantamount to an authorization by Congress to waive tribal sovereign immunity for dram shop actions or common-law recklessness brought by private individuals. Connecticut courts and the majority of appellate courts in other states have reached the same conclusion,” he said.

Use tribal court

Furthermore, the tribe adopted a torts ordinance and waived its sovereign immunity to permit private individuals to bring tort actions against the Mohegan Tribe, including common-law action for reckless service of alcohol. Reardon refused to bring his client’s claim in the Mohegan Tribe Gaming Disputes Court, which is the proper court to hear the case, Bunnell said.

“The Mohegan Tribe takes very seriously the safety of our patrons and that of those in the surrounding community. We have a multi-tiered and aggressive approach to handling the safe service of alcohol which we believe is second to none,” he said.

Jackson King, general counsel for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, issued this statement:

“Our tribal nation has enacted a dram shop statute which is almost identical to that of the state of Connecticut and many other jurisdictions. The Tribal Court is the court with jurisdiction over such matters.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that tribal sovereignty is limited and, specifically, that the tribes have no sovereignty in the area of liquor, Blumenthal said. Congress has granted the state concurrent jurisdiction in this area and federal law does nothing to preclude Connecticut’s courts from exercising jurisdiction to enforce the state’s laws intended to limit the devastation resulting from DUI in Connecticut.

Other DUI cases

The Vanstaen-Holland case is only one of several DUI incidents in recent years involving casino patrons.

In March, a 23-year old Navy sailor — who later reportedly told police that he had four or five drinks over the course of the evening at a Mohegan Sun club — struck a livery van carrying seven students headed to Boston’s Logan Airport. Student Elizabeth Durante, 20, died at the scene.

Less than one month later, a Lisbon construction worker, who admitted to police that he had been drinking at Mohegan Sun, caused a crash in Norwich that killed a 59-year-old woman from Willimantic, police said.

Blumenthal also cited studies revealing that while DUI arrests statewide have fallen, they have increased in communities surrounding both casinos, including Norwich and Montville. He said another study concluded that southeastern Connecticut had the highest rate of highway fatalities in the state by a wide margin, with speeding and drunken driving as the leading causes.

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/