Evidence in Wii case "overwhelming," lawyer tells jury

Oct 13, 2009 (The Sacramento Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ETM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- One of the lawyers for Jennifer Lea Strange's survivors told a jury today that the evidence is overwhelming that broadcasting giant Entercom Communications Corp. and its subsidiary Entercom Sacramento LLC were responsible for the woman's death in a radio station's water drinking contest nearly three years ago.

"You get to decide what the standards are in this community, how radio station personnel are going to operate ... and how a company like Entercom is going to train its personnel," plaintiffs attorney Roger A. Dreyer said in the beginning of his closing arguments in the wrongful death trial that is nearing its conclusion in Sacramento Superior Court.

Dreyer, who is representing Strange's widower and their two children, said that if the employees of Entercom Sacramento's "Morning Rave" program on the KDND's "The End" 107.9 were negligent on the day of the fatal contest, and if they were acting in the scope of their employment, then the corporate defendants also are responsible and should be held liable for the 28-year-old woman's death.

"We believe the evidence demonstrates in overwhelming fashion that these two defendants were responsible," Dreyer said of Philadelphia-based Entercom and its Sacramento subsidiary. He said it was up to Entercom "to make sure people don't do dangerous contests. This isn't something we made up. These are their rules."

Strange finished second in the Jan. 12, 2007, "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which participants were asked to drink as much water as they could without urinating, with the winner getting one of the popular video games that were hard to get at that time.

Entercom, Dreyer said, failed to properly train its employees from the executives at the managerial level to the on-air talent behind the microphones in the studios. Dreyer said the training failure led to "a complete breakdown" from the written policies and procedures Entercom had developed to prohibit contests that were illegal, dangerous or in bad taste.

"That's' why we're here," Dreyer told the jury.

The attorney only got about an hour into his argument before the lunch break. The proceedings were held up by two hours this morning when one of the jurors got stuck in a traffic jam caused by the storm-driven closure of Interstate 5.

Dreyer is expected to conclude his argument this afternoon. The attorney for Strange's older son and his father will then give his argument, followed by the defense's presentation, after which the plaintiffs lawyers will put on rebuttal arguments.

At the outset of his presentation, Dreyer showed the jury pictures of Jennifer Strange and her family and told the panel that "the focus of this case is Jennifer." He recounted witness testimony about the woman's love and energy for her family. But he said he did not want the jury to base its decision on sympathy.

"We're not here for pity," Dreyer said. "We're here for justice."

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