Underage Drinking and Social Host Liability in Ohio
The State of Ohio has enacted a number of laws in order to deter underage drinking and the damage caused by underage drinking. Some of the most stringent laws involve civil and criminal liability on the part of social hosts.


April 24, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Underage Drinking and Social Host Liability in Ohio

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People are injured and killed by drunk drivers every day. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, almost 13,000 people were killed in 2007 in alcohol-related crashes. Countless other people suffered serious injuries in automobile accidents caused by drunk drivers. Given the death and destruction that is caused due to alcohol related negligence each year, many states are enacting laws in an attempt to prevent this damage.

The State of Ohio has enacted a number of laws in order to deter underage drinking and the damage caused by underage drinking. Some of the most stringent laws involve civil and criminal liability on the part of social hosts. A social host can be defined as an individual or business who serves alcohol in a social setting.

Under Ohio law, a social host is barred from providing alcohol to people under the age of 21. The Ohio Revised Code § 4301.69(A) and (B) provide the following:

(A) No person shall sell beer or intoxicating liquor to an underage person, shall buy beer or intoxicating liquor for an underage person, or shall furnish it to an underage person, unless given by a physician in the regular line of the physician's practice or given for established religious purposes or unless the underage person is supervised by a parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian. . .

(B) No person who is the owner or occupant of any public or private place shall knowingly allow any underage person to remain in or on the place while possessing or consuming beer or intoxicating liquor, unless the intoxicating liquor or beer is given to the person possessing or consuming it by that person's parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian and the parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian is present at the time of the person's possession or consumption of the beer or intoxicating liquor.

An owner of a public or private place is not liable for acts or omissions in violation of this division that are committed by a lessee of that place, unless the owner authorizes or acquiesces in the lessee's acts or omissions.

Under Ohio law, a person who knowingly allows a person under the age of 21 to drink alcohol on their premises is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor. A first degree misdemeanor in Ohio is punishable by a $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail.

Additionally, social hosts face civil liability under certain circumstances. A social host can be found liable if they knowingly allow a person under the age of 21 to drink, and that person later injures or kills another person.

Social host liability is similar to dram shop liability. Dram shop laws impose liability on bars when they knowingly overserve someone who is obviously intoxicated, and that person injures another. However, while dram shop liability can apply to people of all ages, while social host liability in Ohio applies only to people under the age of 21 who cause injuries to another person.

In any case where a drunk driver has caused serious injury or death to another person, it is crucial to consider every possible source of liability. Beyond seeking compensation from the drunk driver, it will be necessary to investigate whether the drunk driver was knowingly overserved by a bar or by a social host. An experienced personal injury attorney can help determine every source of liability in the aftermath of an accident caused by a drunk driver.

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