[picantel]

I know he is grieving and all but what happened to personal responsibility. He sues the poor guy who was spun out by an erratic driver. ****ing idiot.

Hancock's Father Sues Over Pitcher's Death
May 24, 4:09 PM (ET) Email this Story

By JIM SALTER

ST. LOUIS (AP) -The father of Josh Hancock filed suit Thursday, claiming a restaurant provided drinks to the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher even though he was intoxicated prior to the crash that killed him.

The suit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court by Dean Hancock of Tupelo, Miss., does not specify damages. Mike Shannon's Restaurant, owned by the longtime Cardinals broadcaster who starred on three World Series teams in the 1960s, is a defendant in the case along with Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager.

Other defendants include Eddie's Towing, the company whose flatbed tow truck was struck by Hancock's sport utility vehicle in the early hours of April 29; tow truck driver Jacob Edward Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove.

The Cardinals and Major League Baseball were not listed as defendants.

Authorities said the 29-year pitcher had a blood content of nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his system when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He was also speeding, using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt, Police Chief Joe Mokwa said after the accident. Marijuana also was found in the SUV.

Mokwa said Hancock went to Shannon's not long after the Cardinals played a day game against the Chicago Cubs on April 28. The lawsuit claimed that Hancock was a regular at the restaurant bar and was there for more than 3½ hours.

"It's understood that for the entire 3½ hours that Josh Hancock was there that he was handed drinks," Keith Kantack, a lawyer for Dean Hancock, said. "It's our understanding that from the moment Josh Hancock entered Mike Shannon's that night that he was never without a drink."

A person answering phones at the restaurant declined comment. A message left with Van Matre was not returned.

The lawsuit claimed Tolar was negligent in allowing his vehicle to reach the point where it stalled on the highway, and for failing to move it out of the way of oncoming traffic. A police report said the car became stalled when it spun out after being cut off by another vehicle.

Police said Hargrove noticed the stalled vehicle and stopped to help. The report said he told officers he was there five to seven minutes before his truck was hit by Hancock's SUV. But Kantack said the tow truck may have been there up to 15 minutes, yet failed to get the stalled vehicle out of the way.

"Were the police contacted?" Kantack asked. "Why weren't flares put out? Why was the tow truck there for an exorbitant amount of time?"

Tolar did not have a listed telephone number. Calls to the towing company were met with a busy signal.

Kantack said others could be added later as defendants in the suit. He declined to speculate on whether the Cardinals or Major League Baseball could be added to the suit, but said the Hancock family has been "overwhelmed by the support and respect the Cardinals have shown since Josh's passing."

Dean Hancock said in a statement that the "facts and circumstances" of Josh's death "have caused great pain to all of Josh's family." As administrator of his son's estate, Dean Hancock said he has an obligation to represent the family on all issues, "including any legal actions necessary against those who contributed to the untimely and unnecessary death."

[pico]

I know he is grieving and all but what happened to personal responsibility. He sues the poor guy who was spun out by an erratic driver. ****ing idiot.

Hancock's Father Sues Over Pitcher's Death
May 24, 4:09 PM (ET) Email this Story

By JIM SALTER

ST. LOUIS (AP) -The father of Josh Hancock filed suit Thursday, claiming a restaurant provided drinks to the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher even though he was intoxicated prior to the crash that killed him.

The suit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court by Dean Hancock of Tupelo, Miss., does not specify damages. Mike Shannon's Restaurant, owned by the longtime Cardinals broadcaster who starred on three World Series teams in the 1960s, is a defendant in the case along with Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager.

Other defendants include Eddie's Towing, the company whose flatbed tow truck was struck by Hancock's sport utility vehicle in the early hours of April 29; tow truck driver Jacob Edward Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove.

The Cardinals and Major League Baseball were not listed as defendants.

Authorities said the 29-year pitcher had a blood content of nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his system when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He was also speeding, using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt, Police Chief Joe Mokwa said after the accident. Marijuana also was found in the SUV.

Mokwa said Hancock went to Shannon's not long after the Cardinals played a day game against the Chicago Cubs on April 28. The lawsuit claimed that Hancock was a regular at the restaurant bar and was there for more than 3½ hours.

"It's understood that for the entire 3½ hours that Josh Hancock was there that he was handed drinks," Keith Kantack, a lawyer for Dean Hancock, said. "It's our understanding that from the moment Josh Hancock entered Mike Shannon's that night that he was never without a drink."

A person answering phones at the restaurant declined comment. A message left with Van Matre was not returned.

The lawsuit claimed Tolar was negligent in allowing his vehicle to reach the point where it stalled on the highway, and for failing to move it out of the way of oncoming traffic. A police report said the car became stalled when it spun out after being cut off by another vehicle.

Police said Hargrove noticed the stalled vehicle and stopped to help. The report said he told officers he was there five to seven minutes before his truck was hit by Hancock's SUV. But Kantack said the tow truck may have been there up to 15 minutes, yet failed to get the stalled vehicle out of the way.

"Were the police contacted?" Kantack asked. "Why weren't flares put out? Why was the tow truck there for an exorbitant amount of time?"

Tolar did not have a listed telephone number. Calls to the towing company were met with a busy signal.

Kantack said others could be added later as defendants in the suit. He declined to speculate on whether the Cardinals or Major League Baseball could be added to the suit, but said the Hancock family has been "overwhelmed by the support and respect the Cardinals have shown since Josh's passing."

Dean Hancock said in a statement that the "facts and circumstances" of Josh's death "have caused great pain to all of Josh's family." As administrator of his son's estate, Dean Hancock said he has an obligation to represent the family on all issues, "including any legal actions necessary against those who contributed to the untimely and unnecessary death."

he lost his cash cow, but yeah, frivilous lawsuits...

[bigboydan]

I heard about this one picantel. I don't think he'll stand a chance of winning this case in a St.Louis court room though, even despite his celebrity status. Especially when they combined the jury pools that now includes the county residents. The best chance of the Hancock's getting anything out of this one is in a settlement type fashion.

[isetcap]

I thought the exact same thing, Picantel.

[Mudcat]

Nothing surprises me in the world of litigation. It is the like the burglar who breaks into a house and slips on the linoleum - and sues because the place wasn't safe enough.

The only thing more ridiculous than the fact that people sue for stuff like this is that they sometimes win.

[picantel]

Fun frivolous cases:

Marcy Meckler. While shopping at a mall, Meckler stepped outside and was "attacked" by a squirrel that lived among the trees and bushes. And "while frantically attempting to escape from the squirrel and detach it from her leg, [Meckler] fell and suffered severe injuries," her resulting lawsuit says. That's the mall's fault, the lawsuit claims, demanding in excess of $50,000, based on the mall's "failure to warn" her that squirrels live outside.

Ron and Kristie Simmons. The couple's 4-year-old son, Justin, was killed in a tragic lawnmower accident in a licensed daycare facility, and the death was clearly the result of negligence by the daycare providers. The providers were clearly deserving of being sued, yet when the Simmons's discovered the daycare only had $100,000 in insurance, they dropped the case against them and instead sued the manufacturer of the 16-year-old lawn mower because the mower didn't have a safety device that 1) had not been invented at the time of the mower's manufacture, and 2) no safety agency had even suggested needed to be invented. A sympathetic jury still awarded the family $2 million.

Allen Ray Heckard. Even though Heckard is 3 inches shorter, 25 pounds lighter, and 8 years older than former basketball star Michael Jordan, the Portland, Oregon, man says he looks a lot like Jordan, and is often confused for him -- and thus he deserves $52 million "for defamation and permanent injury" -- plus $364 million in "punitive damage for emotional pain and suffering", plus the SAME amount from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, for a grand total of $832 million. He dropped the suit after Nike's lawyers chatted with him, where they presumably explained how they'd counter-sue if he pressed on.

Barbara Connors of Medfield, Mass. Connors was riding in a car driven by her 70-year-old(!) son-in-law when they crashed into the Connecticut River, and Connors sank with the car. Rescue divers arrived within minutes and got her out alive, but Connors suffered brain damage from her near-drowning. Sue the driver? Sure, we guess that's reasonable. But she also sued the brave rescue workers who risked their lives to save hers.

Rhonda Nichols. She says a wild bird "attacked" her outside a home improvement store in Fairview Heights, Ill., causing head injuries. That's right: outside the store. Yet Nichols still held the Lowe's store responsible for "allowing" wild birds to fly around free in the air. She never reported the incident to the store, but still sued for "at least" $100,000 in damages. In January 2006, the case was thrown out of court.

Wanita "Renea" Young of Durango, Colo. Two neighborhood teens baked cookies for their neighbors as an anonymous gesture of good will, but Young got scared when she heard them on her front porch. They apologized, in writing, but Young sued them anyway for causing her distress, demanding $3,000. When she won(!!) $900, she crowed about it in the newspaper and on national TV. Now, she's shocked (shocked!) that everyone in town hates her for her spite, and is afraid she may have to move. But hey: she won.

Christopher Roller of Burnsville, Minn. Roller is mystified by professional magicians, so he sued David Blaine and David Copperfield to demand they reveal their secrets to him -- or else pay him 10 percent of their lifelong earnings, which he figures amounts to $50 million for Copperfield and $2 million for Blaine. The basis for his suit: Roller claims that the magicians defy the laws of physics, and thus must be using "godly powers" -- and since Roller is god (according to him), they're "somehow" stealing that power from him.

Homecomings Financial, a subsidiary of GMAC Financial Services, which is a division of General Motors. The finance company accepted a change of address notice from identity thieves for the account belonging to Robert and Suzanne Korinke. The thieves ran up a $142,000 debt, and the Korinkes notified Homecomings of the fraud the moment they discovered it. Homecomings sued them two years later, saying the couple's "negligence" is what "caused the injury to Homecomings," not the fact that the company accepted a change of address from fraudsters -- and then gave them all the money they could drain. The victims got the company to drop the suit, which demanded $74,000 plus attorney's fees, after shelling out $5,000 in legal fees -- an outcome the couple's lawyer called "really lucky".

[isetcap]

Fun frivolous cases:

Christopher Roller of Burnsville, Minn. Roller is mystified by professional magicians, so he sued David Blaine and David Copperfield to demand they reveal their secrets to him -- or else pay him 10 percent of their lifelong earnings, which he figures amounts to $50 million for Copperfield and $2 million for Blaine. The basis for his suit: Roller claims that the magicians defy the laws of physics, and thus must be using "godly powers" -- and since Roller is god (according to him), they're "somehow" stealing that power from him.

All of those cases are nonsense except for the one about Christopher Roller. He really is God. Copperfield and Blaine have in fact stolen some of his powers. It's so obvious if you just look at the facts. I've done millions of hours of research and I know it to be true. Most of you just don't want to accept the truth or even acknowledge the mountains of evidence proving his divinity. There's even a "documentary" about it narrated by some random, energetic, and unbelievably annoying kid who I trust implicitly based on his extensive journalistic accreditations. Some day you will all realize that you have been deceived all along. So laugh while you still can, but remember; he knows.

[cwsulzba]

I think the negligence at the bar is legitimate, they could at least get their liquor license taken away. I am not in lawschool, but I took business law in college last year.

[Preussen]

I think the negligence at the bar is legitimate, they could at least get their liquor license taken away. I am not in lawschool, but I took business law in college last year.

I'm from Germany, so I don't know much about the American law, but in Germany an adult can be served as much alcohol as he orders (as long as it's not obvious that he is already in a state that further alcohol will be medically dangerous to him). Is this different in the U.S.?

[BigBollocks]

I'm from Germany, so I don't know much about the American law, but in Germany an adult can be served as much alcohol as he orders (as long as it's not obvious that he is already in a state that further alcohol will be medically dangerous to him). Is this different in the U.S.?

You write REALLY good English for someone who learned another language first (and English can be tough to learn). I don't think 99% of North Americans know the difference between it's (short for it is) and its (showing possessive)

In the US bartenders are supposed to "serve responsibly," and most will pay attention in cutting you off if you've had too many and getting you a taxi. Obviously this isn't always possible.

It looks like this player's parents are just trying to make an easy dollar, and I don't think they'll win this case unless they can prove the bar was grossly negligent as he had several issues with alcohol abuse prior and also had drugs in his car. Just another athlete who thought because he was a professional player that he was God also.

[bigboydan]

You guys keep forgetting that the cops found weed in his car too. So who's to say that it wasn't the weed that caused this terrible event, and not the alcohol. Also, he was talking on his cell phone at the time of this accident. Now with all those other factors possibly coming into play,how could you possibly win this case in court?

[hawk 5]

This will be a cival lawsuit not a criminal lawsuit. He was over served. Dean Hancock will shut Shannons down and then some.

[Tricky]

I think the negligence at the bar is legitimate, they could at least get their liquor license taken away. I am not in lawschool, but I took business law in college last year.

Don't think they have a case there, either. His dad is swinging a stick in the dark just hoping to hit something.

[EBone]

Great post, pic. I was just ranting with my neighbor about this situation last night.

That term "personal responsibility" has no meaning in our society anymore. It is always on everyone else's shoulders to make sure we behave.

The thing is that, in my younger days, I was in Josh Hancock's boat. I should be dead for some of the stupid things I did with alcohol and driving a motor vehicle. It is a terrible idea. But I got extremely lucky with not getting any DUI's or DWI's or wrecking my car or any of that....so, coming from me, it is a bit of the "pot calling the kettle black" sort of thing.

But, good god almighty...........dude was hangin out at some pretty notorious places around the St. Louis area. You keep doing that shit night-in and night-out, eventually, it will catch up to you. Granted, Josh Hancock paid the ultimate price and I hate that that happened but doesnt Josh Hancock hold a vast majority of the blame for what happened that night?




E

[bigboydan]

This lawsuit should have never even been accepted by a lawyer in the first place IMO

Family of Cardinals pitcher Hancock drops wrongful-death lawsuit
By CHERYL WITTENAUER, Associated Press Writer
July 30, 2007

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The family of late Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock dropped a wrongful-death lawsuit against Mike Shannon's restaurant stemming from the player's death in April.

The family's lawyer, Mark Bronson, said he filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit before a procedural hearing Monday in St. Louis Circuit Court. The lawsuit had alleged that others shared responsibility for Hancock's death.

He referred questions to Hancock lawyer Keith Kantack in Tupelo, Miss. Kantack did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Hancock, a 29-year-old relief pitcher, died after a St. Louis Cardinals home game in April when he crashed his sport utility vehicle into the back of a tow truck stopped on U.S. 40 in St. Louis. The lawsuit was filed a month later by Hancock's father, Dean Hancock.

The motion effectively ends the legal battle, although the lawsuit could be refiled.

The lawsuit alleged that others shared responsibility for Josh Hancock's death, including Mike Shannon's restaurant, where the player drank earlier in the night; restaurant manager Pat Shannon Van Matre; the tow truck driver; the tow truck company; and the driver of a disabled car on the highway whom the tow truck driver had stopped to help.

"That's the end of it," said Don Wolff, lawyer for the Shannon family. "This case never had any merit. It was totally and completely without merit."

Judy Shannon, wife of Cardinals broadcaster and former player Mike Shannon, who owns Shannon's restaurant, died Saturday after a battle with brain cancer.

[MonkeyF0cker]

You'd think decent parents would create some sort of non-profit foundation for substance abuse or something along those lines. They'd actually be doing a service to the community and for the legacy of their son. They could probably make a few bucks off of it too. It's a shame really. This reckless litigation only reguritates the poor choices that Josh Hancock made that night and makes them look extremely childish. I hope the judge tosses this case as soon as he sees it.

[imgv94]

I heard about this one picantel. I don't think he'll stand a chance of winning this case in a St.Louis court room though, even despite his celebrity status. Especially when they combined the jury pools that now includes the county residents. The best chance of the Hancock's getting anything out of this one is in a settlement type fashion.

Since you live in St.Louis, are the courts different there?

[bigboydan]

Not really IMG. However, In this case the local media seemed to be taking shots at the Hancock family for filing such a absurd lawsuit. Another thing you have to remember too is that Mike Shannon is the Cardinals radio announce which is probably why there happen to be so much negativity on the whole case.

[bigboydan]

Yes sir, He sure tried too.

[bigboydan]

He was going to counter sue the Hancock family if they lawsuit wasn't dropped.

[Justin7]

If a bar serves a drunk, and the drunk causes an accident, the bar will get hammered. The difference between a BAC of 0.16 and 0.20 doubles the chance of that drunk causing an accident.

This case was probably dismissed since the surviving wife died.

Like it or not, society needs these lawsuits. Bars make a TON of $$$ from drunks, and society gets hurt when they serve drunks. These kind of lawsuits are the only way to give bars a reality check.

[MonkeyF0cker]

If a bar serves a drunk, and the drunk causes an accident, the bar will get hammered. The difference between a BAC of 0.16 and 0.20 doubles the chance of that drunk causing an accident.

This case was probably dismissed since the surviving wife died.

Like it or not, society needs these lawsuits. Bars make a TON of $$$ from drunks, and society gets hurt when they serve drunks. These kind of lawsuits are the only way to give bars a reality check.

That's ridiculous. You should not be held liable for the actions of others. It is illegal for that person to be driving. It should be the responsibility of the consumer to police their own intake and take the appropriate steps to get home safely. I've never been to a single bar that wouldn't call you a cab if you asked for one. Also, do you realize how easy it is for many daily drunks to hide a high BAC? Their tolerance is astronomical. Should they start breathalyzing everyone every time they come to the bar? I just don't understand how people can possibly make out the bartenders and bar owners to be the bad guys in these situations. With that logic, if someone buys a steak knife set from Bloomingdale's is it then the store's responsibility if that person stabs and kills their spouse with it? Where does it end? This country is supposed to be based on freedom and with freedom comes personal responsibility. Why can't people just grow the hell up and stop blaming everyone else when they f\*\*k up? Before you know it, all these ridiculous legal battles are going to take every shred of freedom away from us that we've ever had. It's no wonder this country is going down the crapper in a hurry...

[pags11]

oops, thought this thread was about tacomax...my bad...

[tacomax]

The lawsuit alleged that others shared responsibility for Josh Hancock's death, including Mike Shannon's restaurant, where the player drank earlier in the night; restaurant manager Pat Shannon Van Matre; the tow truck driver; the tow truck company; and the driver of a disabled car on the highway whom the tow truck driver had stopped to help.

Christ on a bike!

Why stop there? Why not sue the phone service provider and the mobile phone manufacturer since it obviously had a negative effect on his driving. And why not sue the car company for not building a car which would enable him to survive a pissed-up high impact crash? And why not sue God for putting beer and weed on the earth in the first place?