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BLEVINS v. SAFEWAY10/5/1988
e past fifteen years, he had no knowledge of how much he drank and had never seen him so influenced by alcohol that he could not perform his duties satisfactorily or drive and control a vehicle. He had no knowledge that appellant was intoxicated on the date of the accident or at the time the accident occurred. Reviewing the testimony most favorable to the finding of the Commission, the Commission could, and did find that the employer did not know that appellant was intoxicated on the date of the accident and has no knowledge of his having previously consumed alcohol to such an extent as to affect his driving or ability to perform fully all of his duties satisfactorily. There was no evidence that the employer participated in any drinking sprees or that he knowingly permitted the appellant to continue to work in an intoxicated condition. Mere knowledge of his propensity to consume alcohol does not, in our opinion, estop the employer from raising the defense of intoxication under the circumstances presented by this record.
At the hearing in the case at bar, Mrs. Blevins testified that, at one time, she had been a produce buyer for Safeway. She said that the regional manager would come to town three or four times
a year and that it was customary for the produce buyer to pick him up at the airport and spend time with him afterwards. Quinton Lundberg had been her husband's supervisor for approximately five years. She testified that there were usually dinner meetings after work, that business was usually discussed at those meetings and that there was always drinking involved. Sometimes she went with her husband to these dinners and sometimes she did not. She said that when she did not go with him, Mr. Blevins invariably came home in an inebriated condition. She testified that it was his custom to drink a six-pack of beer every night. She said that it was her belief that appellee knew of Mr. Blevins' drinking problem because the manager of the McAllen Produce Buying Department had told her that he thought Blevins had a drinking problem some years before. She said that she thought Mr. Blevins was reimbursed for his mileage in taking the manager from place to place. She also testified that the employer did not require the produce buyer to go out to dinner with the supervisor, nor did the employer require that the buyer drink.
Alice Denson was a buyer accountant for Safeway and worked for Mr. Blevins. She testified that she ordinarily went to dinner with Mr. Blevins and Mr. Lundberg when Lundberg was in town. She said that the bill for dinner, including whatever drinks were consumed, was paid sometimes by Mr. Lundberg and sometimes by Mr. Blevins. If Lundberg paid the bill it would be charged back to Safeway on his expense account. She testified that there was no requirement that either she or Mr. Blevins go out to dinner with the regional manager.
Ms. Denson said that on March 10, 1983, they closed the office at 4:30 and went to Mr. Lundberg's hotel room. She, Blevins, and Lundberg had a couple of drinks there. Sometime after 6:00 p.m. they went to dinner at the Sir Loin's Inn in North Little Rock. They all had appetizers and a few more drinks before dinner. She testified that while she and Mr. Lundberg had wine with their dinner she wasn't sure that Mr. Blevins did. Ms. Denson said that they each had an after-dinner drink. She testified that Blevins and Lundberg followed her home to make certain that she got there safely, and that when they left her at around 10:15 p.m., she had no indication that Blevins was intoxicated. She also said that Lundberg told her the next morning that he and Blevins had gone back to the bar and had "a
couple more drinks" before Blevins left.
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