Under the social host law passed by the New Jersey legislature in 1987, if a guest in your home consumes too much alcohol and injures someone in a car accident after leaving the party, the injured person (not the guest) can recover damages from you. In addition, in New Jersey, a social host may be held responsible for the injuries suffered by intoxicated minors after they leave a party.

NJ Social Host Liability Lawyer

If you serve alcohol to guests in your home you should keep an eye on things. If it looks like someone has had too much to drink, ask another guest to drive the intoxicated person home, or consider calling a cab. Many homeowner’s and tenant’s insurance policies provide coverage for situations where a host is accused of serving a guest too much alcohol.

Remember, if a guest is visibly intoxicated, and you know that this guest is going to drive, if you do nothing to reduce the risk your guest creates, you may be liable.  Under the law, an innocent third party who is injured by the intoxicated guest may sue you. Any guest who is old enough to buy and drink alcohol is disqualified from recovering damages from you, even if the guest was injured. But an underage guest may recover damages from the host if that minor is injured in a car accident after negligently being served alcohol.

Another area of law relating to intoxicated persons is The Dram Shop Act which applies to anyone licensed to sell alcoholic beverages, and to people who have a permit to sell alcohol from the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, such as bars, restaurants, taverns, and their employees. Under the Dram Shop Act people or businesses who sell a container of alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person may be held liable for such service of alcohol. Both the intoxicated individual who was served and innocent third parties are potential claimants.

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