State's high court rules against DuPage strip club in '06 crash

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a DuPage County strip club is liable for a 2006 alcohol-related car collision that killed a man from St. Charles and a pregnant woman from Yorkville.

The question was whether On Stage Productions Inc., operators of Diamonds Gentlemen's Club, is accountable for the crash that occurred when John Homatas, a 26-year-old from Wayne, drove away from the club in unincorporated DuPage County and collided head-on in Kane County with a vehicle driven by April Simmons, 27, killing her, her 8-month-old fetus Addison and his passenger John Chiariello, of St. Charles.

Homatas, who had a blood-alcohol concentration following the collision of 0.164 - more than twice the legal limit - as well as cocaine and marijuana in his system, was convicted of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence. He is serving a 12-year sentence at the Dixon Correctional Center in northwest Illinois.

Thursday, five of the seven justices agreed with a lower-court ruling that the strip club, which doesn't serve alcohol, was in fact liable for the collision. Court records say the club's employees ejected Homatas and Chiariello from the club after Homatas was found vomiting in the club's restroom. Employees then told the valet service to start Homatas' car and bring it to the front entrance, then opened the driver's side door and instructed Homatas to leave the premises.

"We do not hold today that restaurants, parking lot attendants or social hosts are required to monitor their patrons and guests to determine whether they are intoxicated," Justice Rita Garman wrote in the majority opinion. "We only hold that where - a defendant is alleged to have removed a patron for being intoxicated, places the patron into a vehicle and requires him to drive off, such facts are sufficient to state a common law negligence -"

Justices Anne Burke and Thomas Freeman dissented with part of the ruling.

Craig Mielke is a partner with Foote, Meyers, Mielke & Flowers, LLC in St. Charles, which represented the victims in the case.

Mielke said that although Diamonds Gentlemen's Club doesn't actively provide patrons with alcohol, the club's role in putting Homatas into his car and similar clubs' unusual drinking policies both played roles in finding the business liable.

"It's a bit like a BYOB place on steroids, if you will," Mielke said. "They don't allow you to bring in alcohol, but they actively encourage you to get drinks. So it's a pretty unique business model we're dealing with here, and we're glad the Supreme Court held that business model responsible for what happened."

An attorney representing the defense in the case did not immediately return calls for comment.

The case now returns to the Kane County Circuit Court.