A man who fell off a bar stool while drunk lost his damages claim against a publican yesterday. Mr William Joy was already drunk when he went into a pub on his way home and fell off a stool, a judge ruled in the High Court in Belfast. That was enough to clear the landlord of any duty of care towards him, Mr Justice Campbell said.
The judge said that if Mr Joy's claim had been successful he would have been entitled to damages amounting to £1,088,865.
Mr Joy (37), a former butcher, from Princess Avenue, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, broke his neck when he fell off the stool and has since used a wheelchair.
He sued Mr Michael Newell, former owner of the Copper Room bar in Cookstown, who denied liability.
During the hearing last December the court heard that Mr Joy had already drunk 13 vodkas and four pints of beer before he went into the Copper Room in 1989.
In yesterday's reserved judgment Mr Justice Campbell said that in law a landlord's duty of care was limited to customers who were clearly so drunk that they were incapable of taking care of their own safety.
"Before that stage has been reached it is likely that the customer will be either unconscious or inebriated to such a degree that he is bordering on unconsciousness," said the judge.
But there was no evidence available to bar staff that Mr Joy was "so drunk that he was on the verge of unconsciousness so as to be unable to look after his own safety".
The judge said the stool, 30 inches high, was perfectly safe, and if it became unsafe it was only because of Mr Joy's self-induced state of intoxication.
Mr Justice Campbell said: "In my judgment there was no breach on the part of Mr Newell of any duty of care which he owed to Mr Joy. Therefore Mr Joy's claim must fail."
Mr Joy's solicitor, Mr Liam McNally, said he would consider the judgment before deciding whether to appeal.