Judge: Drunken man, not casino, to blame for fiancee attack
EASTON, Pa. >> A man who drunkenly assaulted his fiancee last year and now can’t find a job because of his conviction and prison sentence has no one to blame but himself, a judge said Wednesday in throwing out his lawsuit against a casino he accused of serving him too many free drinks.
Northampton County Judge Paula Roscioli ruled midway through the civil trial that 31-year-old Nicholas Mullins was the only one responsible for his actions in January 2002 inside his hotel room at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, The (Allentown) Morning Call reported.
Mullins, who downed 17 drinks, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to two to four years in prison.
Defense attorney Stuart Niemtzow said his client was also injured and now can’t find employment. Niemtzow vowed to appeal the ruling.
Mullins, a Navy veteran, cited the Dram Shop Act, a law on the books in Pennsylvania and 37 other states that says businesses selling alcohol to visibly intoxicated people can be held liable for injuries they suffer as a result.
Mullins told police that his fiancee attacked him after he lost $800 and contends he only slapped her in self-defense. A doctor concluded that her injuries were consistent with being punched repeatedly.
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Casino attorney Kevin Ruane said the attack occurred “well after” Mullins finished drinking. Hotel records showed that the couple entered their room at about 1:30 a.m., three hours before the assault was reported, he said.
The judge decided to throw out the lawsuit after the defense rested its case. She said the casino could not have reasonably foreseen Mullins’ actions.
Mullins said Wednesday he had anticipated that his suit would fail but believed it was worthwhile anyway.
“I wanted to bring attention to the fact that Sands casino overserves people without care of the consequences,” Mullins said. “Maybe in the long run, it saves some lives.”
11 responses to “Judge: Drunken man, not casino, to blame for fiancee attack”
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Casinos feed you free drinks so you bet recklessly and lose money. Unfortunate when the alcohol affects you in other ways. Don’t drink.
Thejudge did the right thing by dismissing the case…Mr. Mullins need to man up and take responsibility for his actions instead of blaming others for his bad choices….
Will he end up here as another homeless person who scrounges off all the taxpayers.
If he does, I’ll send him to you as it seems you know how to handle the unfortunates.
Unfortunates? Foul fruits! You want them? Buy them.
Must’ve not been too drunk if he could remember he had 17 drinks. Or, do you call that “immune?”
this is the kind of judges that we need in hawaii!!!!! if this case was tried here the judge would have probably sided with the defendant and gave him a couple million bucks for pain and suffering.
Thank you Judge Roscioli. I’m guessing that if this was in California the man would be awarded $M’s.
Unfortunately he is missing a few screws. He could have chose to drink less but since it was free he took advantage.
Finally, a judge with common sense!! Definitely need judges like that in Hawaii.
At first thought it was all about his manhood, apparently not???