The laws of liability

Cheers, April, 2005

In the conference's legal session, Stephen Barth, attorney and founder of Hospitality Lawyer.com, discussed the challenges and pitfalls in on-premise beverage law. During his session, entitled "Mixing of Alcohol and the Law: A Complex Cocktail," Barth focused on several key areas, starting with legislative history, as he reviewed the repealing of prohibition to the current "control versus private debate."

Barth also addressed marketing issues, such as federal and state advertising laws and restrictions. In the complex area of Dram Shop Liability, Barth outlined the "liability triangle," and issues surrounding the dram shop patron and injured third parties. He emphasized the importance of training in responsible service for employees as a potential defense in case of liability lawsuits. The best defense in any case, he said, would be the ability to prove that an operation had gone beyond the minimum the law required in establishing regular training of servers handling beverage alcohol.

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Operators should know it is common for minor employees to try to consume alcoholic beverages on-premise, so they should be more active in policing the behavior of employees. He went further by recommending that no employee be served beverage alcohol at their place of work, even when off-duty, as another layer of protection. And never, ever, he said, open your restaurant's doors once closed, as a protection against theft. Finally, Barth warned with an eye-opening video, against serving flaming drinks in any food service establishment.