$25 Million Verdict for Widow After Drunk Driver Kills Husband on I-65

On the night of November 4, 2010, Phillip Amsden, 63, had pulled his service truck onto the shoulder of Interstate 65 near Hobart, Indiana to help a tractor-trailer driver with a flat tire. Around 11:40 p.m., Jeffrey Cleary drove into the service truck, pinning Amsden between the two vehicles. Amsden died at the scene. Cleary's blood-alcohol concentration measured 0.24, well above the legal limit, and first responders noted slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and the smell of alcohol.

Cleary had spent the day drinking at two Lake County establishments. He began at Giovanni's Restaurant in Munster, where he consumed six drinks over roughly six to seven hours, then moved on to the Country Lounge in Hobart before getting behind the wheel. He was later convicted of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, a Class B felony, and sentenced to 14 years.

Patricia Amsden, Phillip's widow of 40 years, filed a civil wrongful death action against Cleary, his employer Maintenance Dynamics Inc., and both bars under Indiana's dram shop liability statute. Chicago-based Phillips Law Offices, led by managing partner Stephen Phillips, tried the case in Lake Superior Court before a six-person jury.

After a February 2015 trial, the jury returned a $25 million verdict, apportioning fault among all four defendants: $10 million against Cleary, $7.5 million against Country Lounge, $5 million against Giovanni's, and $2.5 million against Maintenance Dynamics. The plaintiff had asked for a minimum of $14 million. The National Law Journal cited the award as one of the top verdicts in the United States for 2015.

The verdict drew an appeal from Country Lounge, which argued the damages were excessive and driven by emotion rather than evidence. The Indiana Court of Appeals heard oral argument on the appeal in July 2016. Cleary's auto insurer, Auto-Owners Insurance, deposited its policy limit of $250,000 plus interest with the Lake County court following the verdict. No reported decision reduced the jury's award.