LAFAYETTE, Ind. ― The Country Club of Indianapolis and Rick's Boatyard Inc. recently were added as defendants to a civil lawsuit for damages caused by Brent Wills' excessive intoxication on Sept. 18, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of Kimberly Burge and teenager Jaden Harvey, as well as the critical injuries to Burge's 17-year-old son, Rylan Burge.
The lawsuit cites negligence and wrongful death statutes.
The country club and Rick's Boatyard were added to a similar lawsuit filed in December by Harvey's father, Erik Harvey.
Both lawsuits also list Wills and his employer, Coyote Crossing Golf Course, as defendants.
Wills, who pleaded guilty to all the criminal charges in May and is serving a 24-year sentence , was golf director at Coyote Crossing in northern Tippecanoe County. He and a guest were golfing in a tournament on Sept. 18, 2023, at the Indianapolis country club, where Rick's Boatyard provided unlimited drinks to the golfers, according to the amended lawsuit.
Initially, both Burge and Harvey's lawsuits named Wills and Coyote Crossing as defendants. Harvey's lawsuit added Rick's and the country club earlier this year, and on Monday, Burge's suit added the Indianapolis country club and Rick's, claiming the free flow of alcohol created a party atmosphere at the tournament, condoning and encouraging excessive driving, according to Monday's amended filing.
"Neither (the Country Club of Indianapolis) nor Rick's followed established standards in the food and beverage industry for limiting or controlling alcohol consumption among its patrons as necessary to protect the public," the amended filing states.
"It is vital that event sponsors and their representatives, such as those involved with the September 18, 2023, golf outing, manage and limit excessive drinking and stop serving anyone who is visibly intoxicated," said Donald Wruck, the attorney representing the Burge estate and Rylan Burge.
"Everyone in the community depends on places that serve alcohol to act responsibly to prevent tragedies like the one that left Rylan seriously injured and took the life of his mother and his best friend."
Wills started drinking early in the morning even before leaving Coyote Crossing, according to information from Wills' sentencing hearing on June 10 . He drank all day on the golf course and drank more at the dinner that followed the tournament.
The lawsuit alleges that a Rick's Boatyard employee offered to let Wills and his guest stay all night instead of Wills driving back to his rural Tippecanoe County house near West Lafayette. Wills declined, according to the lawsuit and information from his sentencing hearing.
Wills stopped on the way home for more drinks, according to information from the sentencing hearing.
By the time he ran the stop sign at Tippecanoe County Road 400 West and U.S. 52 at 9:25 p.m., Wills was speeding at 62 mph with a blood-alcohol content of more than .24% ― three times the legal limit to drive in Indiana.
Wills pleaded guilty in May and has been cooperating in the three civil lawsuits pending against him.
He cannot appeal his convictions, as part of the plea agreement, but a filing last month indicates he is appealing his sentence.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Defendants added to drunken golf director's negligence, wrongful death civil cases
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