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Iowa Supreme Court orders trial in Guthrie Center bar fight case

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April 5th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says a jury should decide whether a Guthrie Center bar is responsible for injuries to a patron attacked by another in the establishment’s parking lot. The case had been dismissed by a district court judge but the Supreme Court says in a ruling Friday that it should go to trial.  It involves a group of construction workers drinking at Gutterz Bowl and Lounge in Guthrie Center in March 2009.

The bar owner made Curtis Hoyt leave after he started an argument with another man, Curtis Knapp. Later, in the parking lot, Knapp hit Hoyt on the head, knocking him out. Hoyt is suing the bar. The Supreme Court says bar owners must protect patrons and there are sufficient legal issues for a jury to decide.