$262.5 Million Verdict for Odessa Man Left Quadriplegic After Bar Overserved His Attacker

On June 3, 2021, Rogelio Lujan spent most of the afternoon and evening at Linx Bar and Grill, a bar and restaurant operated by Linx Food and Beverage, LLC at the Ratliff Ranch Golf Links in Odessa. By the time he left, employees at the bar had served him 19 drinks. He got into a gray Dodge Ram and pulled onto the road.

At approximately 7:55 p.m., Lujan's truck reached the intersection of Andrews Highway and Yukon Road in North Odessa. A line of vehicles was stopped there. Lujan did not slow down. His Ram struck a white Ford van from behind, pushing it into the other vehicles and triggering a four-vehicle collision. Isaac Sanchez, then 32, had been waiting on his black Harley Davidson motorcycle just behind the van. The force of the impact left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed in all four limbs.

Lujan was arrested that night and charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony under Texas law. His criminal case was still unresolved when the civil trial concluded three years later.

Sanchez engaged Glasheen, Valles and Inderman Injury Lawyers, working alongside co-counsel from The Bailey Law Firm in San Angelo. The team filed claims against Lujan and against Linx Food and Beverage, LLC under Texas dram shop law, which allows injured plaintiffs to sue alcohol vendors who knowingly serve a customer to the point of obvious intoxication and then allow that customer to drive.

At trial in the 70th District Court of Ector County, attorneys for Sanchez placed the bar's conduct at the center of their case. Evidence showed Lujan had been at Linx for most of the day and that staff kept serving him drink after drink as intoxication became apparent. The number of drinks served, 19, was a central point of testimony. The jury heard that Lujan showed no signs of slowing down before he drove, and that nothing at the bar stood in his way.

On September 26, 2024, the Ector County jury returned a unanimous verdict of $262.5 million. Jurors assigned 60 percent of fault to Lujan, placing roughly $157.5 million on him, and 40 percent to Linx Bar and Grill, placing approximately $105 million on the bar. No post-verdict reduction or remittitur appeared in coverage following the verdict. Lujan's criminal trial remained without a scheduled date.