About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

12 W. St. U. L. Rev. 417 (1984-1985)
Preventing Alcohol-Related Injuries: Dram Shop Liability in a Public Health Perspective

handle is hein.journals/wsulr12 and id is 423 raw text is: Preventing Alcohol-Related Injuries: Dram Shop Liability in a Public Health Perspectivet Victor Colman, J.D. * Bruce E. Krell, JD. ** James F Mosher, J.D.*** The relationship between intoxication-related injuries and the law has had a long, if uneven, history. One aspect of this relationship is dram shop' laws, which impose civil liability upon sellers of alcoholic beverages for injuries caused by intoxicated or underaged patrons. Cali- fornia, in a short period of time, has proceeded in a circular fashion on the issue of fault. Beginning with Vesely v. Sager2 in 1971, the California Supreme Court imposed civil liability upon a licensee3 for violation of a penal statute. After a series of decisions, the trend toward increased server accountability culminated in 1978 in Coulter v. Superior Court of San Mateo County,4 a decision which extended dram shop liability to a non-licensed social host. The exceptional Coulter decision led to a legis- lative purge of liability in the same year. California has thus become an t Preparation of this paper was supported by two grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Alcohol Research Center Grant #AA06282-02 to the Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; and #R01 AA0621-01 (Prevention Research: Server Intervention and the Law) to the Prevention Research Group, Medical Research Institute of San Francisco. * Associate Director, Prevention Research Group, Medical Research Institute of San Fran- cisco, B.A., Michigan State University; J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law. ** Bruce E. Krell, Inc., 345 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. B.A., Florida State Uni- versity; J.D., John Marshall School of Law. *** Administrative Director, Prevention Research Group, Medical Research Institute; Associ- ate Director for Policy Studies, Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Eval- uation. B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz; J.D., Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley. 1. In the mid-1800's a drinking establishment where liquors were sold to be consumed on the premises was sometimes known as a dram shops. See BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 445 (5th ed. 1979). 2. 5 Cal. 3d 153, 486 P.2d 151, 95 Cal. Rptr. 623 (1971). 3. As used herein, a Licensee refers to an alcoholic beverage retailer licensed under the provi- sions of the state alcohol and beverage control (ABC) act or those who should have been licensed under the State ABC Act. See, e.g., CAL. Bus. & PROF. CODE § 2339.1 (West 1980). 4. 21 Cal. 3d 144, 577 P.2d 669, 145 Cal. Rptr. 534 (1978) (overruled by CAL. Bus. & PROF. CODE § 25602).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most