BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1407
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1407 (Judiciary Committee)
As Amended June 27, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 19, 2011) |SENATE: |37-0 |(July 14, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : 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.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead in this non-controversial committee bill:
1)Clarify 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)Clarify 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
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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.
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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this committee bill also made a
technical clarification by declaring that Civil Code Section
51.7 was enacted as part of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976,
in Chapter 1293, Statutes of 1976.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This non-controversial committee bill 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
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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
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) Chapter 154, Statutes of 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
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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 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 (Feuer), 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
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to minors. According to the author, 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001618