Jackie Faircloth trial: Jury reaches verdict in $30.84 million civil suit against Potbelly's
Nada Hassanein
After 90 minutes of deliberation Friday, a jury found Potbelly's and the former Cantina bar liable in a 2014 drunk driving hit-and-run crash that left a young woman with a catastrophic brain injury and awarded her family $30.84 million in damages.
The civil lawsuit filed by Jackie Faircloth's family asserted Potbelly's was a significant contributor to the intoxication of Devon Dwyer, a security guard at the bar, when he hit the 18-year-old while crossing Pensacola Street.
"This is a good day for Jackie and a good day for holding bars accountable for their misconduct," said her family's attorney Don Hinkle.
Potbelly's owner Dan Gilbertson declined to comment Friday afternoon on the outcome of the case.
"It's still an open case for us so we don't want to make a comment at this time," he said,l.
On Sunday, Gilbertson sent a longer statement to the Democrat, vowing to appeal.
“This is a tragic situation. Throughout this unfortunate process we have witnessed the incredible support, love, and dedication a family is capable of showing to a loved one who has sustained such devastating injuries. However, we believe the law was misapplied, the jury reached the wrong conclusion in this matter, and we will appeal the verdict. Main Street Entertainment has procedures in place to do everything we can to ensure that minors are not served alcohol. Out of respect for Jacquelyn Faircloth and her family, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Jackie was a Tampa high school star, an exuberant cheerleader, avid swimmer and volunteer. On the night of the accident, Nov. 29, 2014, the young athlete’s life was upended.
Her trip to Tallahassee to visit her brother, a then-freshman at FSU, and enjoy a football game ended in Jackie, who'd been drinking that night underage at Catina, suffering a catastrophic brain injury that left her permanently disabled.
She cannot walk or talk, breathes and eats through a tube and has seizures. Now 22, she spends her days in an assisted living facility. The damages are intended to cover her past and future medical expenses and her pain and suffering.
A mistrial was declared in February after a jury couldn't reach a verdict after three days of deliberation, leading to this week's trial at the Leon County Courthouse.
"The parents are exhausted emotionally and drained, especially after having gone through this before," Hinkle said, adding they were headed home to share the news with their daughter.
Bar tabs showed that Dwyer bought 18 Bud Lights and six bourbons at Potbelly's over the course of four hours before hitting the road, the lawsuit said — though Dwyer claimed he didn't consume all the drinks he purchased and that he wasn't intoxicated.
He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of a hit-and-run resulting in serious injury. He’s now under community supervision for another eight years, Florida Department of Corrections records showed.
Jurors on Friday found Dwyer was intoxicated at the time of the crash and was a contributing cause to Jackie's injuries.
Hinkle pointed to the terrible tragedy as a cautionary tale.
"All the students are coming back," he said. "There's a whole new freshman class starting at Florida State, and the bars need to know there's a reason we have laws against serving young people."
Reach Nada Hassanein at nhassanein@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @nhassanein_.