$19.3 Million

Case Details

David Barber, working with his wife, attorney Elizabeth Barber, recently won a verdict of $19.35 million for the Estate of a man stabbed to death at an Elks club in western Kentucky. Trial testimony showed that the Elks repeatedly chose not to discipline or terminate a bartender/member who assaulted and threatened others over several months. The bar manager testified that the Elks instructed her to “sweep it under the rug” when she told club leaders about her concerns, which included a fight at the club one month before the stabbing. The club also chose to have no safety program or alcohol cutoff procedures.

Witnesses said that the off-duty bartender came into the Elks club in April, 2017, and was obviously intoxicated and belligerent. He verbally abused and/or threatened others for over an hour and a half. The bar manager testified that both she and the female bartender on duty were afraid to ask him to leave, and that an Elks officer declined their request to help them. Testimony showed that the Elks discouraged its bartenders from calling the police for help in such situations. The off-duty Elks bartender ultimately stabbed Grant Beckner to death in an outside area at the Elks which was so dark that onlookers could not see what was happening. An Elks corporate witness admitted that a local ordinance required sufficient outdoor lighting to make the Elks property safe. Beckner died before he arrived at a hospital.

The $19.35M verdict included Beckner’s lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the Elks. According to a post-trial filing by the Elks, the verdict included the 12th highest punitive damage award in Kentucky this century.