Bills to Hold Alcohol Servers Liable for Drunk Patrons’ Actions and Let DLCA Shut Down Nuisance Businesses Are Held for More Work

Two bills authored by Senator Carla Joseph were both held in the Committee of Government Operations, Veterans Affairs, and Consumer Protection after calls for further refinement.   The first, Bill 36-0113, would assign liability to businesses that serve intoxicating beverages to patrons who have overconsumed. Joseph stated that the bill addresses the “devastating consequences of drunk driving in the Virgin Islands” and protects “innocent lives, promoting responsible alcohol service and ensuring justice for victims.” She argued that existing laws “fail to address the role of businesses that profit from over-serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated patrons.” If enacted, a victim of a drunk driving accident could commence proceedings against a server who provided alcohol to a person who was already drunk.

The Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs generally supported the bill, with Commissioner Natalie Hodge noting that the current law is “outdated and difficult to apply in practice.” The existing standard is that a claimant must prove that a server provided alcohol to a person habitually addicted to alcohol. For Hodge, Senator Joseph’s proposal “appropriately replaces the archaic standard with a more practical and commonly understood one.”  Ms. Hodge suggested that servers should obtain responsible alcohol service certification that teaches them, in part, how to identify “visible signs of intoxication.” The commissioner noted, however, the difficulties in assigning responsibility if an individual has been bar hopping.  The same level of support was not offered by Hugo Hodge, a local business owner. He contended that the bill attempts to “shift personal liability and culpability from the person that's making the decision to consume alcohol to the business owner.”

Mr. Hodge also questioned the determining factors for visible intoxication. “Who can define that? Who can set a standard for that? Who can say that?” he asked. “It seems utterly impossible to even assess…How are they to know what level of alcohol intake that person has had before they got to that business?”  The second measure, Bill 36-0115, would authorize the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs to physically close a business when it finds that the business is causing a nuisance, presents a threat to safety or is disturbing the peace. According to Senator Joseph, the bill empowers the DLCA to “take decisive action” against businesses that disturb the peace.   READ MORE...https://viconsortium.com/vi-senate/virgin-islands-bills-to-hold-alcohol-servers-liable-for-drunk-patrons--actions-and-let-dlca-shut-down-nuisance-businesses-are-held-for-more-work