Most states in the U.S. have civil statutes known as "dram shop" laws, which can be used to impose liability on bars, restaurants, liquor stores, and other licensed vendors if they provide alcohol to a clearly intoxicated person, or to a minor, who then goes on to injure someone else in an alcohol-related accident.
It's important to note that dram shop laws do not eliminate the intoxicated individual's liability. Rather, these laws impose additional liability on businesses, for injuries suffered by a third party. The purpose of these laws is to prevent vendors from contributing to alcohol consumption by minors and over-consumption by adults. This article will discuss some of the specifics of Arkansas dram shop laws. It will also provide some examples to illustrate how these laws apply in real life, after a drunk driving accident.
Arkansas's dram shop laws are found at sections 16-126-103, 16-126-104, and 16-126-105 of the Arkansas Code. As with most dram shop laws, sections 103 and 104 establish that a retailer may be civilly liable if it knowingly sells alcohol to:
In both cases, actual knowledge is not a requirement. In other words, the business may still be liable if it reasonably should have known its customer was a minor, or "clearly intoxicated."
To clarify, section 104 defines the term, "clearly intoxicated" as meaning "the person is so obviously intoxicated to the extent that, at the time of such sale, he presents a clear danger to others." In other words, the intoxicated person needs to exhibit some clear sign he/she is dangerously under the influence of alcohol. This could be manifested by stumbling, slurred speech, strong odor, etc.
The Arkansas Legislature made it a point to spell out -- in section 16-126-105 of the Arkansas Code -- that there will never be dram shop liability in cases where the intoxicated person was neither a minor nor "clearly intoxicated" at the point of purchase. Specifically, Section 105 says, in such cases, "the proximate cause of injuries or property damage" will be the intoxicated person's consumption of alcohol -- not the sale of alcohol to the person.
What about when the intoxicated person is injured or killed? Does that person have a cause of action against the retailer that sold the alcohol? If the intoxicated person was a minor, yes. However, if the intoxicated person was of legal age to drink (21 years of age or older), the intoxicated person (or his/her estate) will not have a cause of action against the retailer that sold the alcohol.
There is no social host liability in Arkansas. In some states, social hosts (such as private individuals who host a party at their home) can be held liable for over-serving alcohol to their guests, or for letting a minor consume alcohol. That is not the case in Arkansas. In social settings, the intoxicated person's consumption of alcohol would be considered the proximate cause of any ensuing personal injuries, or property damage.
So how does all of this apply in the real world? Here are a handful of brief scenarios to provide some real-world context:
A person with a dram shop claim against a business or social host (when the intoxicated person is a minor) may recover the following damages:
Learn more about Dram Shop Laws and Bar Liability for Drunk Driving Accidents.
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