Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-7. Liability for reckless service of liquor
(a) A defendant, as defined in § 3-14-5, who recklessly provides liquor to a minor is liable for damages proximately caused by that minor’s consumption of the liquor.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-7
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Intoxicated individual: means an individual who is in a state of intoxication as defined by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
- Liquor: means any intoxicating beverage which contains more than three and two tenths percent (3. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
- Minor: means any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
- Person: means any individual, governmental body, corporation, or other legal entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
- Visibly intoxicated: means a state of intoxication accompanied by a perceptible act or series of acts presenting an apparent sign or signs of intoxication. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
(b) A defendant, as defined in § 3-14-5, who recklessly serves liquor to a visibly intoxicated individual is liable for damages proximately caused by that individual’s consumption of the liquor.
(c)(1) Service of liquor is reckless if a defendant intentionally serves liquor to an individual when the server knows that the individual being served is a minor or is visibly intoxicated, and the server consciously disregards an obvious and substantial risk that serving liquor to that individual will cause physical harm to the drinker or to others.
(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the disregard of the risk, when viewed in light of the nature and purpose of the server’s conduct and the circumstances known to him or her, must involve a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent person would observe in the same situation.
(d) Specific serving practices that are admissible as evidence of reckless conduct include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Active encouragement of intoxicated individuals to consume substantial amounts of liquor;
(2) Service of liquor to an individual who is under twenty-one (21) years old when the server has actual or constructive knowledge of the individual’s age; and
(3) Service of liquor to an individual that is so continuous and excessive that it creates a substantial risk of death by alcohol poisoning.
History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 537, § 2.