Patron dies, N.S. legion ordered closed

A Nova Scotia legion is hoping to challenge a rare 30-day shutdown imposed for serving a patron who appeared drunk but was actually suffering astroke.

The Stellarton branch of the Royal Canadian Legion says the penalty is too severe.

"There are seven employees that will be unemployed for a month, plus the revenue that is brought into the legion from the (video lottery terminals)and the bar sales," said George Megeney, a member of the legion's executive.

With wedding season underway, the legion is meeting with lawyers to see if it has grounds to appeal, or at least serve the suspension at a time of year when it's not so busy.

This week, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board found that the legion allowed a regular patronto stay in the bar and served him alcohol despite obvious signs that he was drunk.

Megeney said the legion was expecting a penalty, though nothing like this. Thirty-day suspensions are unusual, with most limited toonly a few days.

But the two-year-old case struck a nerve with the board.

"The circumstances surrounding the violation of these regulations are alarming and merit a significant response on the part of the board," the ruling states.

John David Fiefield, 64,walked into the Stellarton legion on Oct. 13, 2006. He had already drunk a pint of vodka or rum. By noon, the bartender had served him two double vodkas.

Fiefield, a regular at the bar, fell out of his chair when the second drink was still in front of him. He was helped into his seat by some customers, but fell to the floor again about 15 minutes later.

The bartender, suspecting Fiefield was drunk, took the man's keys. Fiefield was thencarted by wheelchair to his truck in the parking lot to sleep it off, something staff said they had done several times before.

Fiefield was alone for more than two hours before a customer phoned his wife. When she arrived to pick him up, Fiefield was disoriented and wastaken to hospital.

Fiefield died three days later of a massive stroke. Doctors told his widow that if he had been brought to the hospital a half-hour after his fall, he could have been given clot-busting medication that might have saved his life.

The utility and review board launched an investigation after a liquor inspector heard about the story.

In addition to losing its liquor licence for 30 days, the Stellarton legionhas to turn off its video-lottery terminals for a month and all staff must take a course on responsible beverage service.