The Legal Intelligencer 10-26-1999
By Jeff Blumenthal
Of the Legal Staff A horse-race betting salon and a Main Line mutual-fund manager now serving a prison sentence for hitting and killing a 20-year-old man while driving drunk have settled a wrongful death suit for more than $4 million.
Richard Golomb of Villari Golomb & Honik is the attorney for the estate of Daniel Amoroso, the college student killed during the May 15, 1998, accident. According to Golomb, his clients will receive exactly $4 million from the co-defendants while a $10,000 contribution will be made to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The specific contribution from each of the two defendants in the settlement will remain confidential as per an agreement between the parties, Golomb said.
John Sumner Force, the head of a $500 million mutual fund investing in high-tech stocks, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. This past spring, he pleaded no contest and is currently serving a three-to-six-year prison term.
The civil complaint was filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court on June 29, 1998, less than two months after the fatal accident, but Golomb said discussions with the two defendants had to wait until the conclusion of Force’s criminal case earlier this year.
According to the civil suit, Force was a guest at an establishment called The Turf Club in Audubon, Montgomery County. While at the restaurant betting parlor, Force allegedly consumed more than 10 alcoholic beverages during a five-hour period.
Golomb said key evidence in the case was the The Turf Club’s “casino-style” surveillance cameras, which taped Force drinking while he was a guest at the club.
“One bartender asked him to take a nap on a sofa, and the other asked the hostess to get him a ride home,” Golomb said. “But [the second bartender] left, and the hostess wound up walking him to the door.”
Force was the fund manager at PBHG Technology and Communications Fund, which was reported as having assets of more than $500 million. PBHG, a mutual fund operated by Pilgrim Baxter & Associates, is headquartered in Wayne, Pa.
The 43-year-old Force, who was himself hurt in the accident, was originally placed on medical leave from his position and was later terminated, according to Golomb.
After Force’s plea, Golomb said, he began having discussions with both defendants. An agreement was first reached with attorneys for the Turf Club through alternative dispute resolution and then with Force’s legal team after a pro tem judge’s conference.
“I think it just got to a point when everyone wanted some closure,” Golomb said. “Mrs. Force attended, and I think that sent a message. Everyone stopped playing lawyerly games.”
According to the civil complaint, Force left the Turf Club at about 8:30 p.m. and within a few minutes rear-ended a car at the intersection of Pawlings Road and Lantern Lane in Montgomery County. After signaling the driver of the struck vehicle that he was about to move his vehicle to the side of the road, Force then allegedly fled the scene of the accident “at a high rate of speed, without using headlights.”
Golomb said that Force peeled off while the woman whose car was rear-ended was taking information from a third-party witness.
Minutes later, according to the complaint, near the bypass of Route 422, Force’s car crossed the center divider into opposing traffic, hitting head-on a car driven by Amoroso, of Norristown, who died at the scene from his injuries.
“I think the strongest piece of evidence we had against Mr. Force was the testimony of this extraordinary eyewitness to both accidents,” Golomb said. “This one man stopped at the scene of the first accident to see if everyone was all right, and then when Mr. Force fled, he took off after him. He saw the impact of the second accident and looked after Daniel Amoroso, who basically died in his arms.”
Force was sued for negligence for operating a car while legally intoxicated, fleeing the scene of the prior accident and failing to use his headlights in operating his car.
According to Golomb, Montgomery County law enforcement authorities have said that Force’s blood alcohol count at the time of the accident was 0.299, nearly three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.
The Turf Club and its owner, the Bensalem Racing Association Inc., were sued for negligence and for unlawfully serving alcoholic beverages to Force while he was apparently intoxicated in violation of the state Dram Shop Law.
As the Amorosos’ civil lawyer, Golomb said he has been able to participate with the Montgomery County district attorney’s office and local police in the accident investigation. He said the solid investigative work conducted by authorities coupled with a desire from the defense attorneys to resolve the case before it reached the trial stage led to a settlement.
All defense parties faced counts for the wrongful death of Amoroso and a survival action by the parents of the decedent.
The case was filed in Philadelphia, Golomb said, because the Turf Club and its owners do extensive business in the city. Force worked on the Main Line and resides in Phoenixville, Chester County. Golomb added that he felt a Philadelphia jury would have been more sympathetic to his client’s cause than a panel from the Main Line.
The Force family’s personal attorney, Wayne Schaible of Britt Hankins Schaible & Moughan, did not respond to an interview request yesterday.
