Jax family sues friends and Mankato bar over her drinking death

The family of Amanda Jax has filed a wrongful death lawsuit four months after Jax died from excessive drinking at a Mankato bar on her 21st birthday.

The suit blames the owners of Sidelines Bar and Grill, and five of Jax's friends, for contributing to the 21-year-old's death by continuing to serve her alcohol and neglecting to get her help, even as she lost consciousness.

The complaint alleges Jax bought no alcohol on the night she died. But it presents a potent list of drinks purchased by her friends.

Jax's friends found her lifeless body later the morning of Oct. 30, 2007, and called 911. The Blue Earth medical examiner reports Jax's blood alcohol level was 0.46 at the time of her death.

Craig Blattner is owner of Sidelines Bar and Grill, which closed last week because of problems with its license and lease.

The friends named in the suit are Hannah Marie Becker, Richard Thomas Johnson, Per David Kvalsten, Kathryn Ann Lensing, and Jonathan Robert McIntyre.

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