Short answer: Sometimes. Under Utah’s Alcoholic Product Liability Act, a bar, restaurant or other business that serves alcohol can be liable for injuries a drunk driver causes if it served someone who was under 21, visibly intoxicated, or known to be interdicted, and that intoxication caused the crash. The claim has its own two-year deadline and its own damage limits, so it works differently from the claim against the driver.
Most people hit by a drunk driver think only about the driver. That makes sense; the driver made the choice to get behind the wheel. But when the driver’s insurance is small and the injuries are serious, the place that kept serving the driver can matter a great deal. Utah calls this the Alcoholic Product Liability Act. Most people call it a dram shop law.
Who Can Be Liable Under Utah’s Dram Shop Law
The core rule is in Utah Code 32B-15-201. A person who directly gives, sells or provides alcohol as part of a commercial sale or service is liable for injury, damage or death to a third person when that service causes the intoxication of:
- someone under 21;
- someone who is apparently under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- someone the server knew, or should have known from the circumstances, was under the influence; or
- someone who is a known interdicted person (a person legally barred from buying alcohol).
The injury also has to result from that intoxication. In practice, that usually means a bar, restaurant, club, hotel or event venue that kept pouring for a customer who was already showing signs of being drunk, and that customer then drove.
The employer answers for its staff. Under Utah Code 32B-15-202, a business is liable for its employees’ violations of the Act, and it may not punish a server for using independent judgment to refuse a sale to someone who meets those conditions.
There is one notable carve-out. The liability rules do not apply to a business licensed only to sell beer at retail for off-premise consumption, such as a grocery or convenience store selling packaged beer (32B-15-201(3)).
The “Last Drink” Rule That Helps Prove It
Proving what a bartender saw can be hard. The statute gives injured people a shortcut. It is prima facie evidence of liability for serving an intoxicated person if all of these are true (32B-15-201(1)(c)):
- the business provided the last alcoholic drink the person had before the crash;
- the person drank it at that location;
- the crash happened within 30 minutes after the person left and within a 10-mile radius of the location; and
- the person was charged with DUI, or, if the person died in the crash, a later chemical test showed a blood alcohol concentration of .05 or higher.
Prima facie evidence is not an automatic win, but it means the claim starts with real proof behind it. That is why the timeline matters: when the driver left, where the driver had been, and who poured the last drink.
What About Private Parties and Social Hosts?
The Act treats non-commercial hosts much more narrowly. Under 32B-15-201(2), a person 21 or older who gives alcohol to someone the person knows or should have known is under 21 can be liable when that intoxication causes injury or death. That is the social-host rule in the statute, and it is limited to serving minors.
How the Dram Shop Claim Fits With the Claim Against the Driver
A dram shop claim does not replace the claim against the drunk driver. It runs alongside it. The Act says nothing in it prevents a claim or additional recovery against the person who caused the injury, and a claim against the driver that is not brought under the Act is not subject to the Act’s damage cap (Utah Code 32B-15-301(4)).
The driver’s side of the case can also carry punitive damages. Utah’s usual limits and heightened standards for punitive damages do not apply to a claim arising from driving while intoxicated in violation of the DUI statute (Utah Code 78B-8-201(1)(b)). The dram shop claim itself is different: the Act allows recovery for “any and all injury and damage, except punitive damages.”
If a business pays a judgment under the Act, it can bring its own separate claim for contribution against the drunk driver, based on the driver’s share of fault. That contribution fight cannot reduce what the injured person recovers (Utah Code 32B-15-302). The Act also states that a claim brought under it is exempt from Utah’s comparative-fault statutes, Sections 78B-5-817 through 78B-5-823 (32B-15-301(4)(c)).
For more on what these cases are typically worth and what goes into the number, see our guide to drunk driving accident settlements.
Damage Limits Under the Act
Dram shop recovery is capped. For claims arising after January 1, 2010, the total award to any one person under the Act is limited to $1,000,000, and the total for everyone injured in one occurrence is limited to $2,000,000 (32B-15-301(2)).
“Injury” under the Act is broad. It includes injury to person, property or means of support, and intangible losses such as mental and emotional injury, loss of affection and loss of companionship (Utah Code 32B-15-102). When the crash is fatal, the Act covers recovery by the victim’s heirs.
The coverage to pay those claims is also built into the licensing system. A retail licensee must show the state that it carries dramshop insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate (Utah Code 32B-5-201). When a drunk driver carries only a minimum auto policy, that can be the difference between a claim that covers the injury and one that does not.
The Deadline Is Shorter
This is the part people miss. A dram shop claim must be filed within two years after the date of the injury and damage (32B-15-301(3)). Most Utah injury claims have a four-year limit, so it is easy to assume there is plenty of time. Against the bar, there is not. We explain the other deadlines in our guide to the Utah personal injury statute of limitations.
Government is also outside the Act. It does not create liability for the state, its agencies or political subdivisions based on their role in regulating or authorizing alcohol sales (Utah Code 32B-15-203).
Evidence to Look for Early
The proof in a dram shop case tends to be held by the business and by the police, and some of it is short-lived:
- the police report, DUI charge and any chemical test results;
- where the driver was drinking and for how long, including receipts or card statements;
- security video from inside the bar and the parking lot;
- names of bartenders, servers and other customers who saw the driver;
- the time the driver left and the time and place of the crash.
Security video in particular may be recorded over in the normal course of business. A written request to preserve it should go out early.
Talk to a Utah Drunk Driving Accident Attorney
If a drunk driver hit you or someone in your family, it is worth finding out where the driver was before the crash. We can look at the driver’s coverage, whether a business may share responsibility, and which deadline applies. You pay nothing up front, and no attorney fees unless we win.
Hurt in Utah? Call (801) 921-5134 or send us your case for a free consultation. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.