BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1407|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1407
Author: Assembly Judiciary Committee
Amended: 6/27/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/5/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Social host liability: furnishing alcoholic to
underage persons
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill clarifies Californias social host
liability statute which provides that a claim may be
brought against an adult who knowingly furnishes alcohol at
his/her residence to a person under 21 years of age. This
bill specifically provides that the adult know, or should
have known, that the person served alcohol was under age
21. This bill also specifies that a claim under the
statute could be brought by, or on behalf of, a minor or a
person who was harmed by that minor.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that everyone is
responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful
acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by
his/her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of
his/her property or person, except so far as the latter
CONTINUED
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has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the
injury upon himself/herself. (Civil Code Section 1714(a))
Existing law provides that it is the intent of the
Legislature to abrogate the holdings in cases such as
Vesely v. Sager (1971) 5 Cal.3d 153, Bernhard v. Harrah's
Club (1976) 16 Cal.3d 313, and Coulter v. Superior Court
(1978) 21 Cal.3d 144 and to reinstate the prior judicial
interpretation of Civil Code Section 1714 as it relates to
the proximate cause for injuries incurred as a result of
furnishing alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person,
namely that the furnishing of alcoholic beverages is not
the proximate cause of injuries resulting from
intoxication, but rather the consumption of alcoholic
beverages is the proximate cause of injuries inflicted upon
another by an intoxicated person. (Civil Code Section
1714(b))
Existing law provides that a social host who furnishes
alcoholic beverages to any person is not liable for damages
suffered by that person, or for injury to the person or
property of, or death of, any third person, resulting from
the consumption of those beverages. (Civil Code Section
1714(c))
Existing law provides an exception to the above, allowing
liability against a parent, guardian, or another adult who
knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages at his/her
residence to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law
provides that the furnishing of the alcoholic beverage may
be found to be the proximate cause of resulting injuries or
death. (Civil Code Section 1714(d))
This bill requires that the adult know, or should have
known, that the person served alcohol was under age 21.
This bill also specifies that a claim under the statute
could be brought by, or on behalf of, the person under 21
years of age or an individual who was harmed by that
person.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 7/7/11)
Consumer Attorneys of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes that the intent
of this bill is to "reduce uncertainty in the
implementation of California's new social host act" and
notes that this bill:
1. Clarifies what is meant when the statute says "knowingly
furnishes." The proposed standard is that an adult can
be found to have knowingly furnished alcohol to persons
under 21 years of age by either being shown to actually
know the persons being provided the alcohol were under
21, or being shown to "should have known" that the
persons were under 21 (by facts surrounding the
incident). Thus, in the absence of actual knowledge,
the jury will be asked to determine whether the adult
nevertheless should have known that the person was a
minor (by being a contemporary of their daughter's class
in high school, for example.) This clarifies that
purposeful lack of knowledge of the age of the minors is
not an automatic shield from liability if the adults
should have known they were minors.
2. Clarifies that the minor himself or herself may bring an
action under this subsection for his/her own harm caused
by having been furnished alcohol, as well as third
parties (those injured by the minor's conduct, for
example) being able to bring such suits.
In support, the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
writes that this bill is intended to clarify the scope of
AB 2486, a CAOC-sponsored bill. CAOC writes: "Last year,
CAOC and MADD co-sponsored AB 2486, designed to be one more
important tool in the fight against underage drinking.
Shockingly, prior to our bill, there was complete 'social
host' immunity in the civil courts in instances where
someone, in his or her home, provided alcohol to anyone,
including a minor. Although the social host may be
criminally prosecuted, the law was absolute that no one
could bring a civil action. After AB 2486 was signed into
law, the Judicial Council committee that develops jury
instructions was confused about some of the language, so
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CAOC worked with all parties (the defense counsel and
others) to clarify its application. AB 1407 is the result
of those discussions and the language has been vetted and
agreed to by all interested parties."
RJG:mw 7/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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