BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2486|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2486
Author: Feuer (D), et al
Amended: 6/29/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/22/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Social host liability: furnishing alcohol to
underage persons
SOURCE : Consumer Attorneys of California
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
DIGEST : This bill provides that provisions of law
concerning social hosts who serve alcohol would not
preclude a claim against a parent, guardian, or other adult
to be held liable if he or she knowingly furnishes
alcoholic beverages at his or her residence to a person
under 21 years of age, in which case the furnishing of
alcoholic beverage may be found to be the proximate cause
of resulting injuries or death.
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
or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of
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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. (Civ. Code Sec. 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. (Civ. Code Sec.
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. (Civ. Code Sec.
1714(c).)
Existing law provides that a cause of action may be brought
against any liquor licensee who sells, furnishes, or gives
any alcoholic beverage to an obviously intoxicated minor
where the sale, furnishing, or giving of that beverage to
the minor is the proximate cause of the personal injury or
death sustained by that person. (Bus. & Prof. Code Sec.
25602.1.)
Existing law provides that every person who sells,
furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given
away, any alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of
21 years is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Bus. & Prof. Code
Sec. 25658.)
Existing law provides for criminal liability for a parent
or legal guardian who knowingly permits his or her minor
child, or a minor person in the company of the child, or
both, to consume an alcoholic beverage at the home of the
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parent or legal guardian under specified conditions. (Bus.
& Prof. Code Sec. 25658.2.)
This bill provides that nothing in Civil Code Section
1714(c) shall preclude a claim against a parent, guardian,
or other adult who knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages
at his or her residence to a person under 21 years of age,
in which case, notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Civil
Code Section 1714, the furnishing of the alcoholic beverage
may be found to be the proximate cause of resulting
injuries or death.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10)
Consumer Attorneys of California (co-source)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (co-source)
Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
Currently, unlike the approach of the great majority
of states, a social host in California who provides
alcoholic beverages to any person, including even
minors, surprisingly to many, may not be held legally
responsible for any damages suffered by that person or
by any third person resulting from consumption of
those beverages - even if serious injuries or deaths
result to minors. ? According to the National
Institutes of Health, underage alcohol use remains a
pervasive and persistent problem with serious health
and safety consequences to minors. Alcohol is
literally the drug of choice for most young people in
the United States, and it is still used by more young
people than tobacco or illegal drugs. Indeed,
underage alcohol use actually kills more young people
than all illegal drugs combined - and alcohol is the
leading contributor to death from injuries, which is
the main cause of death for people under the age of
twenty-one. Tragically, every year, roughly 5,000
young people under the age of twenty-one die from
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causes related to underage drinking.
Based on the devastating consequences tied to underage
drinking, it is useful to consider how minors obtain
access to alcohol. According to a 2005 American
Medical Association (AMA) survey, over half of the
teens surveyed reported they obtained alcohol.
Amazingly, one-third of these teens responded that it
was easy to get alcohol from their own consenting
parents, and almost half responded that it was easy to
get alcohol from a friend's parents. In addition, one
in four teens has attended a party where minors were
drinking directly in the presence of parents.
Co-sponsor Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) writes,
"MADD is acutely aware of the devastating results of
underage drinking. Alcohol plus youth is a deadly
combinations, killing 6.5 times more youth than all other
drugs combined. Holding social host[s] accountable under
civil law, for serving alcohol to minors, will change
conduct and prevent tragic circumstances. MADD ? sees AB
2486 as an opportunity to bring California law into
compliance with the majority of other states and more
importantly save lives."
Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), co-sponsor, states
that existing law's grant of immunity to social hosts
"means that no matter what the circumstances and even if an
adult knowingly provides alcohol to a minor, there is
absolutely no accountability in a civil case. We think
that is wrong."
CAOC further points out that under the bill:
[the parent, guardian, or other adult] is not
automatically liable for the injuries or deaths to the
minor or any third party. AB 2486 simply removes an
absolute legal impediment for the family to proceed.
The family of the injured or killed would still need
to prove in court all of the elements of negligence: a
duty of care existed, a breach of that duty occurred,
causation, and damages. Negligence, as a basis for
social host liability, is not automatic. Each element
must be proven in order to give rise to social host
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liability. And, AB 2486 is extremely limited as it
only applies to social hosts who knowingly provide
alcohol to minors.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John
A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Caballero, Charles Calderon,
Furutani, Huffman, Norby
RJG:nl 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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