MANCUSO BY SMITH v. Bradshaw
This text of 487 A.2d 990 (MANCUSO BY SMITH v. Bradshaw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
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The present appeal comes from the grant of a motion for summary judgment. There is only one issue: whether a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board licensee (appellee Friel’s Beverages, Inc.) is liable to a third party (appellant Mancu-so) for injuries caused by a minor drunken driver who was given illegally purchased beer. We hold that under the facts of this case and without a showing that the purchaser was visibly intoxicated at the time of sale, no liability can be attributed to the licensee. We therefore affirm the order of the Court of Common Pleas granting summary judgment for the appellee.
The facts of this case were stipulated for purposes of the summary judgment motion. They are as follows.
[330]*330For the purpose of this Motion, William Magee (date of birth: August 2, 1961) purchased a case of beer from the defendant, Friel’s Beverages, Inc., on March 6, 1981. Thereafter, approximately two six packs of beer purchased from the defendant, Friel’s Beverages, Inc. were consumed by the defendant, Richard Bradshaw (date of birth: September 16, 1961).
On March 6, 1981, at approximately 9:45 P.M. the defendant, Richard Bradshaw was operating a motor vehicle that was involved in an accident with another motor vehicle operated by the plaintiff, Christina Mancuso. Defendant, Richard Bradshaw was intoxicated and unfit to operate a motor vehicle at the time of the accident in question which caused the injuries sustained by the plaintiff. A breathalyzer test was administered to defendant, Richard Bradshaw, following the accident and revealed a blood alcohol level of .20.
The complaint against the defendant, Friel’s Beverages, Inc., avers that said defendant sold alcohol beverages to a minor and that the sale of these beverages was the proximate cause of the accident. There is no proof that William Magee was visibly intoxicated at all times material to this cause of action.
The Act of May 8, 1854 made it a misdemeanor to furnish intoxicating drinks to “any person of known intemperate habits, to a minor, or to an insane person ... [or] to any person when drunk or intoxicated.” 1 The Act also specifically provided a civil remedy for injuries to persons or property as a result of the furnishing of alcoholic beverages [331]*331in violation of “any existing law.”2 That Act was repealed in 1951 and replaced with our modern Liquor Code. See 47 P.S. §§ 1-101 through 9-902. The Liquor Code incorporated the misdemeanor provision of § 1 of the former Act3 but did not adopt the civil liability provision of § 3 of that Act. The elimination of a civil liability statute did not however, eliminate civil liability for licensees who furnished alcoholic beverages in violation of the law.
The case of Schelin v. Goldberg, 188 Pa.Super. 341, 146 A.2d 648 (1958), was the first case seeking to impose civil liability on a licensee since the repeal of the Act of 1854. In that case, an inebriated bar patron, drunkenly annoying another patron, was struck from behind by that patron. Plaintiff based his theory of liability on the fact that the bartender had violated 47 P.S. § 4-493(1) by serving him alcoholic beverages after he was “visibly intoxicated.” Even though the civil liability provision of the ‘54 Act had been repealed, the court held that “[w]hen an act embodying in express terms a principle of law is repealed by the legislature, then the principle of law as it existed at com[332]*332mon law is still in force.” Schelin, supra, 188 Pa.Superior Ct. at 346, 146 A.2d at 651. Applying the Restatement of the Law of Torts § 286,4 the court allowed recovery under a common law theory. Negligence was established by the violation of § 4-493(1) of the Liquor Code. Since the jury found that that negligence was the proximate cause of the plaintiffs injury, liability was imposed on the defendant licensee.
The next development in licensee liability was the enactment in 1965 of 47 P.S. § 4-497, an amendment to the Liquor Code which specifically limits the liability of licensees to third parties injured by a licensee’s customer.
§ 4-497. Liability of licensees
No licensee shall be liable to third persons on account of damages inflicted upon them off of the licensed premises by customers of the licensee unless the customer who inflicts the damages was sold, furnished or given liquor or malt or brewed beverages by the said licensee or his agent, servant or employe when the said customer was visibly intoxicated.
The appellee instant, Friel’s Beverages, Inc., relies upon this provision and its interpretation in Simon v. Shirley, 269 Pa.Super. 364, 409 A.2d 1365 (1979) as a complete bar to liability. Appellant contends that Simon is inapplicable because of factual dissimilarities and that § 4-497 is like[333]*333wise inapplicable to this case because of its unusual fact pattern.
Simon v. Shirley, supra, involved a minor who was served intoxicating beverages in violation of § 4-493(1) of the Liquor Code and subsequently got into an automobile accident which took another motorist’s life. This court held that § 4-497 precluded the extension of liability to the defendant licensee because there wasn’t any evidence that defendant Shirley was visibly intoxicated at the time of the sale.
Appellant admits that Simon was properly decided on its particular facts because Shirley was a customer of the saloon and § 4-497 applies to damage caused “by customers of the licensee.” Appellant would further suggest that § 4-497 was intended to apply only to customers. Bradshaw was not the purchaser of the beer; he obtained it indirectly. Appellant therefore contends that § 4-497 cannot be applied in the instant case where the tortfeaser and the customer are two different people. We disagree. The term “customer” was never intended as a limitation in the way that appellant would construe it. In the trial court’s opinion, the Honorable Domenic D. Jerome said:
It is apparent that defendant Friel’s, Inc., cannot be held liable for the actions of its customer defendant William Magee. Therefore, it naturally follows that defendant Friel’s, Inc., cannot be held liable for personal injuries caused by a minor who became intoxicated from beverages given to him by another minor who was con-cededly not visibly intoxicated when he bought them from defendant Friel’s, Inc.
We find Judge Jerome’s rationale to be precise and complete.
Lastly, appellant raised at argument the recent holding of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Congini v. Portersville Valve Co., 504 Pa. 157, 470 A.2d 515 (1983), as indicative of the direction which the law in this area is taking. We recognize that direction and applaud the Supreme Court for taking it. However, Congini dealt with a social host to [334]*334whom § 4-497 would have been utterly inapplicable. The instant case involves a licensee to whom we have held that § 4-497 does apply. This case is controlled by Simon v. Shirley, supra.
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487 A.2d 990, 338 Pa. Super. 328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mancuso-by-smith-v-bradshaw-pa-1985.