GALVESTON, Texas: A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against a driver who has been charged in the deaths of two men. The lawsuit also names the bar accused of selling the driver alcohol. The lawsuit involving the bar is a dram shop lawsuit. While this is in Texas, most states, including North Carolina, impose a duty on the bars and restaurants not to serve visibly intoxicated persons. If they do, and the driver/bar patron injures a third party, then the bar is liable for the damages along with the bar/restaurant.
In the Texas lawsuit, Matthew Green Shelton, 27, was charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter in the April 25 deaths of Steven Louis Hunt, 42, and Joseph Owens, 43, both of Galveston.
The pedestrians apparently were walking on the sidewalk with a dog, also killed, at 6:15 p.m. when they were hit by a Red Mitsubishi at 13th Street and Seawall Boulevard, police said. The car, which was headed west, then struck a parked car.

On behalf of Hunt’s relatives, the victims Dallas attorney filed suit Oct. 4 in Galveston’s 122nd District Court against Shelton (the driver) and The Beach Hut (the bar) which is located at 731 Seawall Blvd. The lawsuit accused the bar of selling Shelton drinks even though it was apparent he was intoxicated.