Dram shop is a legal term in the United States for laws covering the liability of people serving liquor. Spirits redirects here. ...

Under dram shop liability laws, a party injured by an intoxicated person can sue establishments contributing to that person’s intoxication. Take two friends who go out drinking, get in a fight, and one punches the other. The injured friend can then sue the bar. Also, most dram shop laws cover serving alcohol to a minor. Thus in Texas, minors can sue a drinking establishment for their own injuries sustained while intoxicated. In other states, dram shop liability extends to serving the "habitually intoxicated." Accordingly, an alcoholic’s family can sue the bar that let him squander away the family’s savings. State nickname: Lone Star State Other U.S. States Capital Austin Largest city Houston Governor Rick Perry (R) Official languages None. ...

The wide variety of dram shop laws across the states suggests that the extent to which bars may be blamed for a drunken person’s behavior gives some states pause. A couple of hold-out states impose no dram shop liability — most notably Nevada, whose tourist industry would probably go out of business otherwise. In another small group of states, such as Alabama, Alaska, and Michigan, liability is limited to illegal alcohol sales, such as serving minors or known alcoholics. State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn (R) Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... State nickname: Camellia State, The Heart of Dixie¹, Yellowhammer State Other U.S. States Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Governor Bob Riley (R) Official languages English Area 84,360 mi²/135,765 km² (30th)  - Land 81,664 mi²/131,426 km²  - Water 2,696 mi²/4,338 km² (3. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... State nickname: Wolverine State or Great Lakes State Other U.S. States Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Official languages English Area 250,941 km² (11th)  - Land 147,255 km²  - Water 103,687 km² (41. ...

However, the vast majority of states allow for recovery when the defendant knew (or should have known) the customer was intoxicated — a fuzzy test in application. Some states have attempted to address this problem through more exacting tests. Missouri’s recently revised dram shop law requires proof that the party demonstrates "significantly uncoordinated physical action or significant physical dysfunction." In Texas, a patron must be so obviously intoxicated that he presents a clear danger to himself and others. Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning canoe, is a Midwestern state in the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. ...

On the other hand, in Massachusetts, a patron exhibiting "loud and vulgar" behavior was determined to be "visibly intoxicated," and a bar was sued for serving a customer who left, drank at two more bars, and then got into a car accident three hours later. State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ...

Under Illinois’ dram shop law, plaintiffs can recover after demonstrating: (1) proof of sale of alcohol to the patron; (2) injuries sustained by the patron; (3) proximate cause between the alcohol sale and intoxication; and (4) that intoxication was at least one cause of the third party damages. Notably absent from that list is that the defendant knew or should have known the patron was intoxicated, meaning that every person who sold the patron alcohol, whether or not he was intoxicated at the time, can face some degree of liability. Liability can then extend to casinos and convenience stores; one Illinois court allowed a lawsuit against a company that dropped off self-serve barrels of beer at a union picnic. At least one can appreciate Illinois’ courts' honesty in stating that the dram shop act is intended "to place responsibility for damages caused by intoxicants on those who profit from the sale of alcohol … [and] to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people from the dangers of traffic in liquor." State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th)  - Land 143,968 km²  - Water 6,030 km² (4. ...