Charging for liquor leads to liability

Billy and Effie McClure didn’t just want McIntosh to pay for the death of their son; they wanted his employer to as well. So they filed a wrongful death suit against both McIntosh and his employer, Jefferson Arms Corp.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, found Jefferson Arms not liable for McIntosh’s actions.

The fact that Jefferson Arms didn’t charge McIntosh or other employees for the alcohol they consumed turned out to be the company’s saving grace in the lawsuit.

John Housley, attorney for Lowther Johnson Attorneys-at-Law LLC, 901 E. St. Louis, said a social host isn’t liable for the actions of intoxicated attendees as long as the host doesn’t seek profit from the function.

“The case law has said if you’re a social host and you serve alcohol and one of your guests get drunk and hurts somebody after they leave, you’re not liable,” Housley said.

In the 1989 McClure-McIntosh decision, the court wrote: “Public policy in Missouri is that it is the consumption and not the furnishing of alcoholic beverages that is the proximate cause of injuries inflicted by intoxicated persons. … The Supreme Court of Missouri … found that imposing liability upon social hosts would have a substantial impact upon everyday family and social affairs. … We have found no Missouri cases contemplating liability of an employer for acts of an employee who becomes intoxicated at a company-sponsored party.”

Housley said licensed for-profit liquor-serving establishments could be liable for the actions of intoxicated customers in two ways – first, if the customer is under 21, and second, if the establishment serves alcohol to a customer is visibly drunk.

He also warned that employers who charge for alcohol at holiday parties would be required to obtain a license, and in turn would become liable under the same statute that governs bars and other businesses that sell alcohol.

Bill Alton, special agent for the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, said he advises employers to either cater their holiday parties or provide the food and drink for free.

Otherwise, he said, a business would have to apply for an annual liquor license that might cost around $2,000.

Alton also said the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control would gain access to private company records, including financial information, if it granted a liquor license.

“I’m not sure that a company that does something other than sell alcohol would probably want that kind of involvement,” Alton said.

Springfield Police spokesperson Matt Brown said companies ultimately should take care of their employees and serve alcohol responsibly.

“Although no legal liability (may be) present on their end,” Brown said, “there is some moral liability I would hope they would still consider before allowing somebody to leave a social gathering highly intoxicated.”