TY - JOUR
T1 - Commercial host (dram shop) liability
T2 - Current status and trends
AU - Mosher, James F.
AU - Cohen, Elena N.
AU - Jernigan, David H.
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 5U58DP002027 and Contract Number 200-2011-M-41451 from the CDC. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - Commercial host liability (CHL, also called dram shop liability) holds alcohol retailers liable for alcohol-attributable harm caused by serving alcohol, illegally, to a patron who is already intoxicated (adult liability) or underage (underage liability). The Community Preventive Services Task Force, based on a systematic research literature review, concluded that CHL is an effective strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption. The current article describes the key components of CHL, its grounding in American jurisprudence, its adoption in the 50 states, and changes since 1989, when a similar assessment of these policies was conducted. The current paper focuses on three legislatively enacted restrictions: (1) increased evidentiary requirements; (2) limitations on damage awards; and (3) limitations on who may be sued. Data were collected in 2011 and analyzed in 2012 and 2013. There has been substantial erosion of CHL during the past 2 decades. Fewer states recognized CHL in 2011 than in 1989, and more statutory restrictions were imposed during the study period among states that did recognize CHL; states are more likely to recognize underage than adult liability; and six states recognized a Responsible Beverage Services Practices affirmative defense in both 1989 and 2011. Implications of these findings for public health practitioners are discussed.
AB - Commercial host liability (CHL, also called dram shop liability) holds alcohol retailers liable for alcohol-attributable harm caused by serving alcohol, illegally, to a patron who is already intoxicated (adult liability) or underage (underage liability). The Community Preventive Services Task Force, based on a systematic research literature review, concluded that CHL is an effective strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption. The current article describes the key components of CHL, its grounding in American jurisprudence, its adoption in the 50 states, and changes since 1989, when a similar assessment of these policies was conducted. The current paper focuses on three legislatively enacted restrictions: (1) increased evidentiary requirements; (2) limitations on damage awards; and (3) limitations on who may be sued. Data were collected in 2011 and analyzed in 2012 and 2013. There has been substantial erosion of CHL during the past 2 decades. Fewer states recognized CHL in 2011 than in 1989, and more statutory restrictions were imposed during the study period among states that did recognize CHL; states are more likely to recognize underage than adult liability; and six states recognized a Responsible Beverage Services Practices affirmative defense in both 1989 and 2011. Implications of these findings for public health practitioners are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.013
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 23953363
AN - SCOPUS:84882961298
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 45
SP - 347
EP - 353
JO - American journal of preventive medicine
JF - American journal of preventive medicine
IS - 3
ER -