Trenton, NJA lawsuit was filed on March 20, 2008 against Madison Square Garden because concession workers allegedly continued to sell alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated off-duty police officer. According to the lawsuit, the officer left Madison Square Garden (MSG) and crashed his SUV, killing a two-year-old boy and injuring his mother.
The lawsuit names both MSG and Cablevision Systems Corp., its parent company, and was filed on behalf of the family of two-year-old Jose Carlo Zelaya who died in that fatal accident on Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City. Ruth Zelaya, the boy's mother, has been in a coma since the accident occurred last January.
The former police officer, Kevin Freibott, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and so is a bar called Stitch Bar & Lounge, which is a Manhattan bar located on 37th street just a few blocks away from MSG. The suit is alleging that Stitch Bar & Lounge also served Freibott while intoxicated before he had ever gone to the basketball game at MSG between St. John's and Pittsburgh.
After leaving the game, Freibott's Jeep Cherokee rear-ended the car containing Jose Carlo Zelaya and his mother. When tested after the accident, Freibott's blood-alcohol level was three times higher than the legal limit. This was not the first driving offence for Freibott who was found to have driving offences dating back to the 1980s.
In December, 2007, Freibott pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and was fired from the Jersey City police department. He was sentenced in February 2008 to serve 11 years in prison and must serve at least 7 years before he is eligible for parole.
A spokesman for MSG has expressed sympathy for the young boy's family, but said that the concession workers followed the correct policy in serving no more than 2 drinks to each customer and not selling alcohol to anyone who is intoxicated. MSG's senior vice president of communications, Barry Watkins, says that the alcohol service did not continue shortly after 9:00 p.m. on the night that the accident had occurred. The accident took place around 11:00 p.m.
In a statement issued by MSG on Thursday March 20, 2008, it was stated that Freibott blew three times the alcohol limit two or more hours after the event had ended, making it impossible that Freibott did not keep drinking.
However the attorney for Carlos Zelaya, the husband and father of the victims, has disputed the claims by MSG that its concession workers complied with the policy. He alleges that the concession workers did not follow their own guidelines as for when they cut off service. He has further stated that an investigation that he has conducted showed the concession stands serving alcohol up to the end of the game and even after.
The damages that the lawsuit seeks are reimbursement of fees and costs as well as punitive and compensatory damages. According to the lawsuit, the medical bills for Ruth Zelaya are already in excess of $3 million.