Legal Definitions - drinking shop

The term drinking shop is an older, more informal way to refer to an establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, such as a bar, tavern, or restaurant. In modern legal contexts, the more precise term is dram shop. The legal concept primarily associated with such establishments is dram shop liability.

Dram shop liability holds establishments that sell alcohol responsible for injuries or damages caused by their intoxicated patrons. This liability typically arises when the establishment serves alcohol to someone who is already visibly intoxicated or to a minor, and that person subsequently causes harm to themselves or others.

Here are some examples illustrating situations where the concept of a "drinking shop" (or dram shop) and its associated liability might apply:

• Example 1: Over-serving an Intoxicated Patron
  Imagine a local pub, which could be considered a "drinking shop," where a bartender continues to serve multiple rounds of strong cocktails to a customer who is clearly slurring their words, stumbling, and struggling to maintain balance. Despite these obvious signs of intoxication, the bartender serves them one last drink. The customer then leaves, gets into their car, and causes a serious accident on the highway, injuring another driver. In this scenario, the injured driver might sue the pub under dram shop liability laws, arguing that the establishment was negligent in continuing to serve an already visibly intoxicated patron, leading directly to the accident.

• Example 2: Serving Alcohol to a Minor
  Consider a restaurant that serves alcoholic beverages. A group of teenagers uses fake identification to order beer and wine. The server, failing to properly check the IDs, serves them several alcoholic drinks. After leaving the "drinking shop," one of the intoxicated teenagers gets into a physical altercation with another person on the street, resulting in significant injuries to the victim. The victim could potentially bring a lawsuit against the restaurant, claiming that the establishment's negligence in serving alcohol to a minor contributed to the subsequent assault and injuries.

• Example 3: Patron-on-Patron Violence
  At a busy sports bar, another type of "drinking shop," two patrons get into a heated argument. One of the patrons, who had been served numerous drinks over several hours and was visibly aggressive and unsteady, escalates the argument into a physical fight, punching the other patron and causing a concussion. The injured patron might pursue a claim against the bar, alleging that the establishment over-served the aggressor and failed to intervene or cut off service despite clear signs of intoxication and escalating aggression, thereby contributing to the violent incident.