BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1407
Page 1
Date of Hearing: September 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 1407 (Judiciary) - As Amended: June 27, 2011
FOR CONCURRENCE
SUBJECT : LIABILITY: SOCIAL HOSTS: TECHNICAL CLEAN-UP
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS BE MADE TO THE
SOCIAL HOST LIABILITY STATUTE?
SUMMARY : Makes a couple of non-controversial technical
clarifications of California's social host liability statute
which provides that a claim may be brought against an adult who
knowingly furnishes alcohol at his or her residence to a person
under 21 years of age. Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies the definition of knowledge in the bill such that a
responsible adult must be shown to have known, or to should
have known, that the person being served alcohol is under age
21.
2)Clarifies that a claim under the statute can be brought by, or
on behalf of, a minor or a person who was harmed by that
minor.
EXISTING LAW :
1)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 or her want of ordinary care or skill in the
management of his or her property or person, except so far as
the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought
the injury upon himself or herself.
2)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
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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.
3)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.
4)Provides an exception to the above, allowing liability against
a parent, guardian, or another adult who knowingly furnishes
alcoholic beverages at his or 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This non-controversial technical clean-up committee
bill simply makes a couple of technical clarifications of
California's social host liability statute which provides that a
claim may be brought against an adult who knowingly furnishes
alcohol at his or her residence to a person under 21 years of
age.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA), approximately 5,000 people under the age of
21 die every year as a result of underage drinking. This number
includes 1,900 deaths from car accidents, 1,600 homicides, 300
suicides, and hundreds of deaths from other injuries such as
falls, burns, and drownings. Children who drink alcohol can
also face significant health risks, particularly with respect to
alcohol's effect on the liver and the developing brain, muscles,
and bones. NIAAA also reports that research shows that serious
drinking problems in adulthood, such as alcoholism, often "begin
to appear much earlier, during young adulthood and even
adolescence."
In June 2008, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services reported that "Ým]ore than 40 percent of the
nation's estimated 10.8 million underage current drinkers
(persons aged 12 to 20 who drank in the past 30 days) were
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provided free alcohol by adults 21 or older . . . The study
also indicates that one in 16 underage drinkers (6.4 percent or
650,000) was given alcoholic beverages by their parents in the
past month." The report also found that "Ýa]n average of 3.5
million people aged 12 to 20 each year (9.4 percent) meet the
diagnostic criteria for having an alcohol use disorder
(dependence or abuse). About one in five people in this age
group (7.2 million people) have engaged in binge
drinking-consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion
in the past month."
Last year, in an effort to help discourage underage drinking and
hold adults legally responsible when they knowingly provide
alcohol to minors, the Legislature passed and the Governor
signed AB 2486 (Feuer, Ch. 154, Stats. 2010). That measure
provided that a parent, guardian, or other adult could be held
liable if he or she knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages at
his or her residence to a person under 21 years of age. This
bill is a clean-up measure and would clarify that the adult
know, or should have known, that the person served alcohol was
under age 21. The bill would also specify that a claim could be
brought by, or on behalf of, a person under 21 years of age or
an individual who was harmed by the underage person.
The author writes that the intent of this measure is to "reduce
uncertainty in the implementation of California's new social
host act," and notes that the bill would:
1. Clarify 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. Clarify that the minor himself or herself may bring an
action under this subsection for his or her own harm caused
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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.
Supporter 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 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.
This bill would specify 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. This provision is
meant to clarify who may bring a claim under the social host
statute so that, for example, the adult who furnished the
alcoholic beverages to the minor could be liable to that minor
for his or her injuries. In addition, an individual who was
harmed by that minor could also bring a claim against the adult
furnisher. The provision is thus intended to provide guidance
to the courts in applying the statute.
Last year, California joined a number of other states to impose
civil liability upon adults when they knowingly provide alcohol
to minors. According to the author's office, the following
states permit such liability: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and
Wyoming.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Civil Justice Association of California
Consumer Attorneys of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334