Holiday Concern: Intoxicated Guests...Who's Responsible?
Am I Responsible for Intoxicated Guests?

As the holiday season approaches, the issue of a host’s responsibility for guests who drink again arises.

Consider this scenario:

A guest at your party becomes intoxicated and then drives off, seriously injuring a pedestrian. Are you responsible for the pedestrian’s injuries? Commercial hosts (i.e. taverns and bars) have been found liable for the actions of intoxicated patrons. Although social hosts have not yet been found liable to third parties for the actions of intoxicated guests, there is no policy or principle in law which prevents social hosts from being held equally accountable.

A recent case from Alberta supports this. A teenaged girl hosted a party at the family home. One of the guests became intoxicated, but left in a vehicle driven by a sober person. The intoxicated guest persuaded the sober one to drop him off at his car, which was parked several blocks away. While driving his own car the intoxicated guest hit a pedestrian. The court found that the teenaged girl’s father was not liable to the pedestrian, not because a social host does not have a legal obligation, but because the father could not have done anything differently to prevent the accident. Indeed, the court suggested that the law now imposes a duty upon a social host to take reasonable steps to prevent injury to third parties by inebriated guests, and that the duty does not depend on who provides the alcohol.

The court’s suggestion is consistent with the developing duty to take affirmative action. The question is whether the relationship between the parties is such that it is reasonably foreseeable that carelessness by the defendant would cause injury to the plaintiff. What amounts to carelessness will depend on all the circumstances of a particular case, but it could include failing to take positive steps to prevent the accident.

The courts in the United States have already found social hosts liable for injuries to third persons. It is only a matter of time until the right fact situation brings this developing social host liability to Canada.

So, if you know or should know that a guest is intoxicated, and might drive, you should try to prevent her or him from doing so. Failing to take appropriate action may mean you will be held liable for injuries your guest may suffer, or may inflict on others.

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