SC Venue Crisis group leader speaks on business closures

As we previously reported, iconic Upstate music venue the Blindhorse Saloon is closing its doors after nearly 30 years in Greenville. That announcement is the latest in the ongoing crisis for venues that serve liquor due to skyrocketing insurance premiums.

Sheila Merck the Director of Operations and Communications for the South Carolina Venue Crisis Organization joined the Tara Show this (Wednesday) morning to shed light on the issue. She pointed out issues in the legislation, saying " The way the law is written you can have 1% fault in an incident and be 100% liable".

Merck explains that he meteoric rise in rates for liquor liability insurance comes after a bill was passed by state lawmakers in 2017. Merck said "That law established that businesses are absolutely required to have 1 million dollars minimum of liquor liability or general liability insurance. By making it mandatory it's kind of a signal to injury attorneys that they are going to automatically get a million dollars".

The Blindhorse is the biggest lynchpin in the Upstate to fall in this crisis, but is just one of the many venues around the state that has closed due to the new legislation. To find out more these issues visit https://scvenuecrisis.org/

The full interview with Sheila Merck is below.