Expert Witness FAQ

Thirty years in the industry: bartender and bar manager from 1996, Las Vegas nightclub management including general manager of Eve Nightclub, director-level bar and nightlife roles for multi-unit groups in Texas, Kentucky, and Missouri, and CEO of Rideout Hospitality Consulting since 2010. He holds 112 seller-server and responsible-vendor certifications across 48 states and the District of Columbia and co-authored a bartender training manual. His CV lists every role and certification.

Yes. His prior testimony list covers 20 matters from 2021 to 2026 in 11 states, including 2 trial appearances and 18 depositions.

Both. Of the 20 listed matters, 14 were plaintiff retentions and 6 were defense retentions. His analysis and standards are the same on either side.

Yes: JurisPro, SEAK, TestifyingExpert.com, the Expert Witness Directory, and ExpertClick, and he is profiled in Attorney at Law Magazine.

B.A., English and Political Science, University of Mississippi, 2000.

A Dram Shop expert explains, from the venue’s records and recognized alcohol-service practice, what the staff could and should have observed about a patron’s intoxication, what a trained server is expected to do at each point of service, and whether the venue’s policies, training, and supervision were adequate and actually followed. See Dram Shop expert witness.

Continuing to serve a patron after the signs of intoxication a trained server is expected to recognize, or serving in a volume and pace that recognized practice treats as unreasonable. The analysis looks at the sequence of service, drink counts and tab records, the patron’s observable conduct on video, and what intervention steps were available. See alcohol overservice.

The set of practices taught in seller-server programs such as TAM, TABC, BASSET, and TIPS: checking identification, recognizing behavioral signs of intoxication, pacing and refusing service, offering alternatives, documenting incidents, and involving management. Preston holds 112 of these certifications across 48 states and the District of Columbia. See responsible alcohol service.

Whenever the case will turn on how a bar, nightclub, restaurant, hotel, resort, or casino was run: staffing, training, service procedures, security and door practices, incident response, or the gap between written policy and actual practice. Early retention helps counsel frame the document request and evaluate the theory of the case before significant expense.

Yes. Preston has trained bartenders, written training material, and completed the certification programs at issue in most states. He evaluates whether training was delivered, whether it matched state requirements and the venue’s policies, and whether staff conduct on the night in question reflected it.

In some states, most prominently Texas, a licensee may avoid liability for an employee’s service if the employer required and the employee completed an approved seller-server training program and the employer did not encourage violations. Whether the program was genuinely in force is an operational question Preston evaluates. See the Texas Dram Shop resource.

Blood-alcohol calculations, medical causation, security use-of-force standards, engineering or building-code issues, and legal conclusions. Where a case needs those opinions, counsel usually retains a separate specialist alongside Preston.

Surveillance video, point-of-sale and tab records, credit-card and receipt data, staffing and shift schedules, server training and certification files, written alcohol-service and security policies, manager and incident logs, police and regulatory reports, licensee violation history, and deposition transcripts. A fuller checklist is in this article.

Preston’s qualifications, the materials reviewed, the facts as shown by the records, the applicable alcohol-service and hospitality-operations standards, his opinions, and the basis for each opinion. See expert witness reports.

The full production, his report and file, the venue’s policies, and any opposing expert report, with a preparation session with retaining counsel. See expert witness deposition.

Conflict check, then an initial call on fit, then engagement terms and a retainer, then materials review, opinions, a report where required, and deposition and trial testimony as needed. See litigation services.

Yes. He has testified in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, and accepts engagements in all 50 states. He travels for inspections, depositions, and trial and testifies by video where permitted.

When it is useful and the venue is accessible, yes. Layout, sightlines from service stations, bar and door positioning, and capacity all bear on what staff could have observed.

Call (662) 466-6045 or request a conflict check with the parties, venue, and jurisdiction.