MARSHALL — A personal injury lawsuit against the city of Russell and the Russell Liquor Store is going before a jury this week in Lyon County.

A civil complaint claims that in November 2017, the Russell Liquor store served alcohol to an already-intoxicated man who was later in a single-vehicle crash. A passenger in the crashed vehicle, William D. Petersen, was injured and suffered damages in excess of $50,000, the complaint said. Petersen’s complaint claims that the liquor store was negligent, and violated Minnesota laws in serving alcohol to driver Adam John Biren.

The civil trial in Petersen’s lawsuit started Tuesday in Lyon County District Court.

Biren pleaded guilty to charges of criminal vehicular operation in March 2018. A criminal complaint said that when Biren crashed his vehicle, Petersen received injuries including a gash to the head and a broken vertebra that required surgery.

Petersen filed a personal injury lawsuit in 2019. At first, the complaint said he was suing Biren, as well as businesses that allegedly served Biren alcohol when he was already intoxicated. The Kronborg Inn in Tyler, the city of Russell and the Russell Liquor Store were all listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

However, the city of Russell and the Russell Liquor store are now the only defendants in the case, according to Lyon County court records. The claim against the Kronborg Inn was dismissed by a court order, and in June Petersen and Biren agreed to dismiss the claim against Biren.