A University of Virginia student's lawsuit will move ahead against Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control agents who chased her, mistakenly believing she was carrying a case of beer.
Last summer, Elizabeth K. Daly was carrying a case of La Croix soda water out of a Charlottesville grocery store when ABC agents approached her car. They were on a lookout for underage drinkers.
Daly's lawsuit claims the plainsclothed agents began banging on the windows of the car. Daly called 911, but dispatchers said they could not tell if the agents were law enforcement officers. One agent drew a gun, and another began trying to break a window with a steel flashlight.
Daly drove off, intending to stop at a police station, her lawsuit said. She had sued claiming malicious prosecution, failure to train ABC agents appropriately, and six counts of assault and battery.
Tuesday, a federal judge in Richmond dismissed all or parts of nine of the 12 counts in the lawsuit. But some counts remain: The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson declined the state's motion to dismiss charges of false arrest, common law malicious prosecution and assault charges involving three of the agents.
The judge is seeking more filings from Daly's attorneys.
