In New York, claims are regularly brought by injured third parties when alcohol is consumed in homes or public taverns. New York’s Dram Shop Act affords a person, who is injured as a result of another’s intoxication, a cause of action against the party that unlawfully sold, provided or assisted in providing the alcohol to the intoxicated person.1 Recently, courts in New York have been limiting the extent of personal liability for such injuries, but upholding stricter rules on the public taverns and commercial establishments that serve alcohol.
At the Tavern
It is illegal for businesses to sell alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons. Ultimately, whether such person is “visibly intoxicated” is a question of fact. Expert and eyewitness testimony can be offered to prove visible intoxication.2 But proof of intoxication by high blood-alcohol content alone is insufficient to draw inferences as to a person’s demeanor at the time the person was served alcohol.
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