Lizabeth Ann Caskey (Matthews)

August 31, 1956 - December 30, 1993

Tampa Bay Times Published Dec. 31, 1993

MRG found not liable in '93 killing at Bennigan's unit

Prewitt, Milford.  Nation's Restaurant News; New York Vol. 31, Iss. 41,  (Oct 13, 1997): 1,97.

A jury found Bennigan's neither negligent nor responsible for shootings that occurred in 1993.

HOUSTON - In a decision that may well influence restaurant companies' legal strategies regarding premise-liability lawsuits, a civil court jury found the Dallas-based Metromedia Restaurant Group not liable for the 1993 death of a woman killed during an armed robbery at a Bennigan's unit here.

The jury, although sympathetic with the grief-stricken plaintiff, determined that the Bennigan's restaurant was neither negligent nor responsible for the Dec. 30, 1993, shooting of Lizbeth Matthews -- despite the fact that she was slain inside the restaurant in broad daylight - and vetoed a claim for monetary damages.

Kennie Matthews, who was wounded in the attack that killed his wife, had sued S&A Restaurant Corp. - the former name of Bennigan's parent company before it became MRG - when it refused Matthews' offer of an $8 million out-of-court settlement immediately following the incident. He subsequently charged in his lawsuit that his wife would be alive if Bennigan's had had a security guard on the premises and had been more diligent about customer safety.

Meanwhile, MRG labeled the jury's verdict a "landmark decision" in an age of increased premise-liability lawsuits in which juries have tended to find businesses liable for unforeseen criminal acts.