Considering A Dram Shop Case Against Guidry's Crusin Cajun Crawfish? Here's What You Need To Know

I have sued more bars for irresponsible alcohol service in the last thirty years than anyone else in Texas. Having handled hundreds of cases, I can attest to just how widespread the practice of over-serving customers is. While people might see or hear about drunk driving accidents from time to time, rarely do they hear about the role that reckless bars play in those accidents. In the interest of helping the general public see the real extent of this problem, I spend a portion of my time researching the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's record of complaints and posting about my findings here on my website. If you think you might have a dram shop (liquor liability) case, don't hesitate to call me at (855) 326-0000.

Guidry's Cruisin Cajun Crawfish is located in Deer Park, Texas. As the name suggests, it is known to locals for its menu boasting a variety of Cajun cuisine. The TABC, on the other hand, knows it more for several recent complaints alleging liquor law violations. Over just four years, authorities conducted no fewer than five investigations into alcohol service practices at Guidry's Cruising Cajun Crawfish.

In my experience, it is uncommon for a bar without a history of run-ins with the TABC to end up on the hook for contributing to a wrongful death or injury. Virtually every bar I have ever sued was already on the authorities' radar. That's why I pay close attention to bars with several recent complaints against them. The more investigations a bar has had, the greater my concern is that it could one day contribute to an accident.

Note: Investigations are not evidence that a bar has broken the law. Investigators must have sufficient proof that there was a violation of TABC regulations in order to take legal action. Owing to the nature of liquor law violations, that proof can often be difficult for authorities to obtain. The purpose of this article is simply to relay publicly-available information about incidents where the TABC has investigated Guidry's Cruisin Cajun Crawfish for possible criminal or administrative violations.

TABC Investigations of Guidry's Cruising Cajun Crawfish Between 2015 and 2019

Deer Park - 2113 Center Street

Allegations:

On 03/13/2015, a concerned citizen contacted the TABC, alleging that the bar employed a person under the age of 18 to sell alcohol, as well as selling alcohol to both a minor and an intoxicated person.

Authorities followed up with an investigation shortly thereafter. For most liquor law violations, the TABC requires either video footage of the incident or eyewitness testimony from one of its agents in order to take action. In this particular instance, authorities had neither. As a result, the case came to a close on 04/21/2015.

A member of the Deer Park community reached out to the TABC on 05/24/2018, charging the bar with selling alcohol to an intoxicated person.

After over two months of investigation, authorities were unable to determine the veracity of the allegations, due to a lack of video evidence. As a result, they decided to end their work on the case on 07/30/2018.

On 01/04/2019, a citizen complaint brought the TABC back again to investigate the claim that an employee was drinking on the job. This kind of accusation is more serious than it might appear on the surface. Staff has a legal obligation to stop serving alcohol to patrons who exhibit signs of being dangerously intoxicated. If the staff itself is drinking, its ability to perform this essential function is impaired, which could result in over-serving.

As mentioned previously, the TABC relies heavily on video evidence to substantiate most claims of wrongdoing. Since it did not have any on this occasion, it could not confirm the validity of the accusation. As a result, authorities could not take any action and chose to end the case on 03/21/2019.

With a couple of weeks of the conclusion of the last investigation, the TABC received another citizen complaint on 04/03/2019, that charged that staff was drinking on the job.

Due to a lack of video footage to back up the claim, authorities were unable to prove whether a violation took place. Consequently, they wrapped up their work on the case on 06/02/2019.

A citizen complaint, dated 06/20/2019, alleged for the third time in a row that staff was drunk on the job.

As in all the previous cases, there was no video evidence and thus authorities could not take any action. With no other course of action available, TABC agents concluded their work on the case the very same day.

Texas Law Says Accident Victims Can Sue Bad Bars

If you would like to learn more about Texas dram shop law (i.e. lawsuits against bars who play a role in injurious or fatal accidents), please visit our Texas Dram Shop Law Info Page.