ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Forty-seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2621
illegal liquor sales; liability
Purpose
Establishes factors for the jury to consider in an action for liability for serving an intoxicated person or a minor and provides an exemption from knowledge of previous alcohol consumption to the licensee.
Background
Statute provides that if a business owner sold alcohol to a person who was obviously intoxicated or to a person who was under the age of 21 without asking for proof of the person’s age, the person consumed the alcohol and the consumption of the alcohol was the proximate cause of an injury, death or property damage, then the licensee is liable for the property damage, personal injuries or in an action for wrongful death. These types of laws are often referred to as “dram shop liability laws.” Forty states have dram shop liability laws (The Marin Institute).
Negligence per se is a type of negligence that is established as a matter of law, so that breach of the duty of care is not a jury question. For an example of this principle, assume a building contractor violated a building code when constructing a home, the home collapses and a person is injured. The violation of the building code establishes negligence per se and the contractor will pay civil damages to the injury party as long as the homeowner is able to show that the contractor’s breach of the code was the proximate cause, the primary cause, of the home collapsing.
There is no anticipated fiscal impact associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Specifies that a liquor licensee cannot be charged with knowing that a person has become intoxicated at other locations unless the person was obviously intoxicated.
2. Requires the jury to consider all of the circumstances in determining negligence.
3. Prohibits the jury from considering a liquor licensee’s conduct negligence per se when the licensee is charged with liability for property damage, personal injury or wrongful death.
4. Makes technical and conforming changes.
5. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
COM 2/1/06 DP 6-1-0-2
3rd Read 3/2/06 41-15-4-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 16, 2006
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