BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Noreen Evans, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
AB 1407 (Committee on Judiciary)
As Amended June 27, 2011
Hearing Date: July 5, 2011
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
SK:rm
SUBJECT
Social Host Liability: Furnishing Alcohol to Underage Persons
DESCRIPTION
This bill would clarify 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. This bill would specifically
provide 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 under the statute could be brought by, or
on behalf of, a minor or a person who was harmed by that minor.
BACKGROUND
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 "�m]ore than 40 percent of the
(more)
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nation's estimated 10.8 million underage current drinkers
(persons aged 12 to 20 who drank in the past 30 days) were
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 "�a]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.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
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 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
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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 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. (Civ. Code Sec.
1714(d).)
This bill would require that the adult know, or should have
known, that the person served alcohol was under age 21.
This bill would also 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.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
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.
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2.Clarify that the minor himself or herself may bring an action
under this subsection for his or 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.
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.
2. Bill would clarify what it means to "knowingly furnish"
alcohol under California's social host liability statute
Prior to the enactment of California's social host liability
statute last year, there was no civil liability for a parent,
legal guardian, or other adult who knowingly provided alcohol to
underage persons. In fact, up until that time, California's
"social host liability" statute expressly barred such an action,
providing 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.
AB 2486 carved out an exception to that immunity by providing
that a parent, guardian, or other adult could be held civilly
liable if he or she knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages at
his or her residence to a person under 21 years of age. After
the statute was enacted, questions arose about the section's
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terminology and, specifically, what it meant to "knowingly
furnish" alcoholic beverages to a person under age 21 and
whether the adult had to know that the person to whom he or she
was furnishing alcohol was under 21 years old. This bill would
provide liability for the adult when he or she serves alcohol at
home to a person "whom he or she knows, or should have known to
be under 21 years of age."
That standard is intended to provide for liability when the
adult knows that the person served alcohol was under 21 years
old, or when the adult should have known that to be the case.
The author argues that this makes clear that the adult cannot
purposely ignore a person's age. For example, it could be the
case that an adult should have known that an individual was
under 21 years old if he or she is a classmate of the parent's
high school age child.
Staff notes that under this bill, and existing law, a plaintiff
bringing an action under the social host statute would still
need to meet all of the elements of a negligence action: duty,
breach, causation, and damages. With respect to causation,
Civil Code Section 1714(b) provides 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.
AB 2486 created an exception to this provision by specifying
that a parent, guardian, or adult could be held civilly liable
if he or she knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages at his or
her residence to an underage person. As a result, AB 2486
provided that proximate cause may be found in this instance.
When AB 2486 was considered by the Legislature, the author noted
that "the general 'proximate cause' rule barring suits against
the providers of alcohol clearly should not apply. . . . the
very narrow circumstances covered by this measure strike at the
heart of adult responsibility for children. Allowing adults to
be potentially held accountable for the injuries that can result
to children-too often tragically including death-when they
knowingly provide alcoholic beverages to children is not only
reasonable, it is imperative to protect the health and safety of
our children." As a result, the intent of last year's changes
to social host liability were to provide that the furnishing of
alcoholic beverages in these instances can be the proximate
cause of injuries sustained by a third party.
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3. Clarifying who may bring a claim
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.
4. Civil liability when adults knowingly provide alcohol to
minors: other states
Last year, California joined 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.
Support : Consumer Attorneys of California
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : Author
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation : None Known
Prior Vote : Not Relevant
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