§ 25-787 — Civil Liability for the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages to Minors and Intoxicated Persons.

District of Columbia § 25-787

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 25: Alcoholic Beverages. [Enacted title]
• Ch. 7: Standards of Operation.
• Subch. IX: Minors and Intoxicated Persons.

Text

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, no licensee shall be civilly liable to an injured person or the person's estate for any injury to the individual or damage to any property because of the intoxication of a person due to the sale, service, or delivery of an alcoholic beverage to the person.

(A) An injured person shall have a civil cause of action against a licensee when:

(i) It is proven that the licensee knowingly sold, served or delivered an alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age or to a person who was intoxicated; and

(ii) The sale, service, or delivery of the alcoholic beverage was the proximate cause of the person's injury or damage; provided, that the cause of action is commenced within 2 years after such sale, service, or delivery.

(B) For purposes of this subsection, the term "knowingly" means the licensee knew or should have known a relevant fact.

(b) Upon the death of any party, the right of action shall survive pursuant to § 12-101

(c) The injured person, or the injured person's legal representative, may commence a civil action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against the licensee who sold, served, or delivered the alcoholic beverage to the intoxicated person.

(d) Evidence sufficient to establish that a person was intoxicated as described in subsection (a) of this section shall be based upon the totality of the circumstances present at the time of the sale, service, or delivery of the alcoholic beverage to the person.

(e) A licensee shall not be civilly liable for a person's subsequent off-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages unless the person was visibly intoxicated based upon the totality of the circumstances at the time the alcoholic beverage was sold, served, or delivered to the person by the licensee.

(f) No civil action may be brought under this section by the person to whom the alcoholic beverage was sold, served, or delivered who caused the injury at issue in the claim, or by his or her estate, legal guardian, or dependent, unless the person to whom the alcoholic beverage was sold, served, or delivered was under 18 years of age.

(g) This section clarifies the standard of liability for injury or damages of a licensed establishment for knowingly selling to, serving, or delivering an alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age or who is visibly intoxicated as defined in § 25-101(26A) and supersedes the common law standard. To the extent that the common law standard of liability conflicts with this section, this section controls.

(h) This section shall apply only to causes of action that accrue after [May 21, 2024].