ATLANTA (AP) -- In Georgia, a bartender can be sued for serving alcohol to a noticeably drunk customer. The state's Supreme Court is considering whether the same rules apply to airlines - and if flight attendants must start monitoring plastered passengers.
The court's decision in the lawsuit against Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines could shape the airline industry.
''It's one thing to say to Hooters or Tom's bar that they have to watch how much alcohol they serve. ... It's changing the nature of how airlines do business to say that now they have to keep their eyes on their customers,'' said Frank Vandall, a professor at the Emory School of Law. ''That hasn't been done. It is a brand new concept.''
The case before Georgia's highest court stems from a traffic accident involving a man who allegedly became intoxicated while on a Delta flight from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
William Serio swerved across the center line of a road and struck another vehicle head-on, seriously injuring the driver of that vehicle, Jack Townsend, who is suing Delta for damages.
Serio had between six and eight glasses of red wine during his return flight to Atlanta, according to Townsend's attorney, and did not drink before or after the flight.
Townsend, 28, is now unable to care for himself and lives with his parents, said his lawyer, Irwin Stolz. He suffered multiple orthopedic injuries, including severely broken arms, legs and ribs, Stolz said. He has limited short-term memory, cannot drive and walks with a limp.
''There are very limited things he can do,'' Stolz said.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge threw out Townsend's lawsuit, saying that since the alcohol that Serio consumed was not served in Georgia, the law doesn't apply. But the state appeals court reversed that decision, allowing the case to move forward.
Delta appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court and is not commenting on the case, spokeswoman Benet Wilson said Friday.
''They're saying the law doesn't apply to us because we're up in the sky, that whatever occurs on that airplane we're not responsible for it. That's simply not true,'' Stolz said.
Stolz argues that a federal airline regulation already prohibits serving alcohol to passengers who appear to be intoxicated. However, he said, that regulation only allows passengers or airline employees to sue over any problems, so he has been pursuing the matter in state court.
If Delta loses, the case will go to a jury. Stolz declined to say how much Townsend is seeking in damages.
Because Delta is an airline, not a bar, its primary function is to transport passengers, not entertain, Vandall said. On the other hand, he said, the airline does serve a lot of alcohol each day to passengers.
''It serves as much as a major hotel chain,'' Vandall said. ''There's every reason to treat them as a bar and apply the same standards.''