In one (or more) of the original series of Star Wars movies, flummoxed hero Hans Solo could be heard exclaiming “It’s not my fault” when his bucket-of-bolts spaceship wouldn’t fly as it should. Needless to say, when one faces civil or criminal liability for their conduct, a common defense is that it’s “not my fault”. But a recently filed lawsuit in New Mexico takes the concept of refusing to accept personal responsibility one step further.

James Ruiz, already out on bond on his fifth DWI, was involved in a fatal drunk driving accident in 2010, in which two teenage sisters were killed. Mr. Ruiz was appropriately convicted of his crimes and sentenced to prison. The family of the girls filed civil suits, not surprisingly, against Ruiz (who is undoubtedly judgment-proof), and against the restaurant that served him alcohol that night, leading to his .22% blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash. Such a claim, known as “dram shop” liability, allows aggrieved victims of alcohol-related injuries to seek damages from the bar, restaurant or entity that over-served the drunk driver. Few would argue with the legitimacy of such a claim, although proof, of course, must be established on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Ruiz, however, also felt personally aggrieved at having to do a 40 year stretch in the state’s correctional facilities, and therefore filed his own suit against the restaurant (and his drinking buddy that night as well), claiming that their actions caused him to suffer emotional distress, loss of liberty and loss of the ability to enjoy life. Apparently, since this was his sixth DWI, he will contend that he faced much less than 40 years in prison if convicted only on the charge for which he was out on bond at the time of this accident, had he not been forced by his buddy and the restaurant to down enough drinks to register a .22% blood alcohol level. Everyone knows that the profit margin on alcohol at any restaurant is pretty good, hence the reason the wait staff will frequently inquire if you “want another?” (and which, by increasing the bill, likely increase their tip). When the restaurant staff ignores the increasing inebriation of a hard-drinking patron who then causes injuries to someone after leaving the facility, dram shop laws make that restaurant liable to the injured party. But if the law were to make them liable for damages to the person actually doing the drinking too, then we’ve gone way past compensating the innocent victim, to the point of financially rewarding the actual guilty party. Doesn’t the “drinker” have to take personal responsibility for his own actions? Even when the staff politely and frequently inquires about another drink, or even pushes or cajoles one to order more, every customer has the right to say “no”. Or can they claim to be so weak-minded and lacking of backbone that they cower at the mere inquiry from a waitress about having another drink?

If a claim like this moron’s is valid, then where does it stop? A street thug who shoots a robbery victim sues the good Samaritan or police officer whose intervention causes the gun to go off for his own emotional distress at having to do time or watching his victim bleed? Perhaps Captain Schettino should consider suing the people waving to his boat from the nearby shore which apparently caused him to divert the Costa Concordia into the rocks that sank his ship, killing several dozen people. Couldn’t he claim that their conduct ultimately have caused him emotional distress? And he’s likely going to have that whole “loss of liberty” claim to raise because of his probable incarceration. That’s the new tort law idea…even when your own personal conduct and actions cause death or destruction, just claim “it’s not my fault” and find someone else to whom you can pass the responsibility, and sue them for your own damages over the incident where you injured or killed someone else.

At least I’m happy to say that in Mr. Ruiz’ case, he filed his lawsuit himself, so we can’t blame this poppycock on some sleazy ambulance-chasing attorney.