Reynolds v. HicksReynolds v. Hicks
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- Before:
- Madsen (en banc)
Plaintiffs appeal a trial court decision dismissing their personal injury action on summary judgment against the Defendants. At issue is whether the Defendant social hosts who furnished alcohol to a minor owe a duty of care to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor. We affirm the trial court‘s dismissal finding that the Defendant social hosts owed no duty to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Jamie and Anna Hicks were married on September 10, 1988, at St. Bernadette Church in Seattle. Three hundred people attended the wedding, including Jamie Hicks’ under-age nephew, Steven Hicks. The wedding was followed by a dinner reception where wine and champagne were served. After dinner, drinks were available at a hosted bar.
The facts concerning the hosted bar are not clear. Although Steven Hicks stated that he helped himself to drinks left unattended at an “open bar,” Jamie and Anna Hicks claim that the bar was hosted at all times, that guests were not allowed to serve themselves, and that alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were served in different cups. Clerk‘s Papers (CP) at 80, 94-95. Steven Hicks admitted to consuming alcohol at the reception; however, other relatives, including his sister, Dianne Hicks, his aunt, Anne Dahl, and Jamie and Anna Hicks, all claimed that they did not see Steven drinking alcohol nor did he appear to be in an intoxicated state.
At approximately midnight, Steven Hicks left the reception in his sister Dianne‘s car. At 1:00 A.M. he was involved in an automobile accident with the Plaintiff, Timothy Reynolds. Both Steven Hicks and Timothy Reynolds registered blood alcohol levels of .17 percent. Timothy Reynolds suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident.
Plaintiff Timmy Reynolds, his wife JoDee, and children Matthew, Andrew, and Weslee originally sued Steven Hicks, his sister Dianne, and Does I through V1 in October, 1990. In July, 1991, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint listing Jamie and Anna Hicks as Defendants, alleging that they were “negligent in serving alcoholic beverages to Defendant [Steven] with knowledge and/or reason to believe that [he] was below the age of 21 years and/or became intoxicated.” CP at 18D; CP at 76. Steven and Dianne settled with Plaintiffs and are not a party to this appeal.
Judge James Bates of the King County Superior Court granted the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the first issue, finding that the Defendant social hosts did not owe a duty to third parties injured by the intoxicated minor. Judge Bates reserved the second claim for consideration. Subsequently, Judge Richard D. Eadie entered an order granting Defendants’ second motion and all claims were dismissed against Jamie and Anna Hicks. Plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals certified the case to this court and direct review was granted pursuant to
DISCUSSION
When reviewing a summary judgment order, an appellate court engages in the same inquiry as the trial court. See Mutual of Enumclaw Ins. Co. v. Jerome, 122 Wash.2d 157, 160, 856 P.2d 1095 (1993); Wilson v. Steinbach, 98 Wash.2d 434, 437, 656 P.2d 1030 (1982). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See
In order to prove an actionable claim for negligence, the plaintiff must show (1) the existence of a duty to the complaining party, (2) a breach of that duty, (3) a resulting injury, and (4) that the breach was the proximate cause of the injury. See Hansen v. Friend, 118 Wash.2d 476, 479, 824 P.2d 483 (1992) (citing Pedroza v. Bryant, 101 Wash.2d 226, 228, 677 P.2d 166 (1984)).
The issue presented in this case is whether a social host who furnishes alcohol to a minor owes a duty of care to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor. Whether a defendant owes a duty of care to the complaining party is a question of law. See id. Washington courts have recognized that a legislative enactment may prescribe a standard of conduct required of a reasonable person. See Hansen, 118 Wash.2d at 479, 824 P.2d 483; Young v. Caravan Corp., 99 Wash.2d 655, 659, 663 P.2d 834, 672 P.2d 1267 (1983).
Plaintiffs contend that
give, or otherwise supply liquor to any person under the age of twenty-one years or permit any person under that age to consume liquor on his or her premises or on any premises under his or her control.
to liquor given or permitted to be given to a person under the age of twenty-one years by a parent or guardian and consumed in the presence of the parent or guardian.
To determine whether a duty of care exists based on a statutory violation, this court has adopted the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 286 (1965), which, among other things, requires that the injured person be within the class of persons the statute was enacted to protect. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 286 (1965);2Schooley v. Pinch‘s Deli Market,
In Hansen, this court recognized that a minor who is injured as a result of alcohol intoxication has a cause of action against the social host who supplied the alcohol based on
In Hansen, Keith Hansen‘s mother sued her son‘s adult social host for furnishing alcohol to her son which resulted in his death. See id. at 478, 824 P.2d 483. The court found that
Because of the inherent differences between social hosts and commercial vendors, we have indicated our reluctance to allow a cause of action against a social host to the same extent that we have recognized commercial vendor liability. We have explained:
There is good reason to withhold common law liability for social hosts even though such liability already exists for commercial and quasi-commercial hosts. Social hosts are not as capable of handling the responsibilities of monitoring their guests’ alcohol consumption as are their commercial and quasi-commercial counterparts....
[T]he commercial proprietor has a proprietary interest and profit motive, and should be expected to exercise greater supervision than in the (non-commercial) social setting. Moreover, a person in the business of selling and serving alcohol is usually better organized to control patrons, and has the financial wherewithal to do so....
Additionally, the implications of social host liability are so much more wide sweeping and unpredictable in nature than are the implications of commercial host liability. While liability for commercial providers affects only a narrow slice of our populations, social host liability would touch most adults in the state on a frequent basis. Because social hosts are generally unaccustomed to the pressures involved in taking responsibility for the intoxication of their guests, we cannot predict how well social hosts would respond when the scope of their duties would be so ill defined.
Burkhart v. Harrod, 110 Wash.2d 381, 386-87, 755 P.2d 759 (1988).
Because of these important concerns, this court does not recognize a cause of action in negligence for a third person injured by an intoxicated adult against the social host that served the person while in an obviously intoxicated state, see Burkhart, 110 Wash.2d 381, 755 P.2d 759, but does recognize a cause of action against a commercial vendor in the same situation, see Dickinson v. Edwards, 105 Wash.2d 457, 716 P.2d 814 (1986). This case dramatically highlights the concerns expressed above. To expect Jamie and Anna Hicks, on their wedding day, to monitor their minor guests alcohol consumption in the same manner as we expect of an alcohol vendor is unrealistic and has far reaching social implications.
Recognizing an expanded duty to protect third persons raises problematic questions for social hosts in all contexts. Is the host required to card persons at social and family gatherings? Must the host hire a bartender to control and monitor the alcohol in the
We also note that other courts have found that significant differences between social hosts and commercial vendors support different treatment. The Court of Appeals has held that a third person injured by an intoxicated minor does not have a cause of action against the social host who furnished the alcohol or allowed the consumption of the alcohol on his or her premises. See Hostetler v. Ward, 41 Wash.App. 343, 704 P.2d 1193 (1985). The court applied the Restatement test and found that
The Court of Appeals in Mills v. Estate of Schwartz, 44 Wash.App. 578, 584-85, 722 P.2d 1363 (1986), agreed with the Hostetler court, finding that
We agree with the Court of Appeals that the exceptions to liability in
Plaintiffs argue that the decisions of the Court of Appeals are of limited authority because they were decided before our rulings in Hansen and Purchase v. Meyer, 108 Wash.2d 220, 737 P.2d 661 (1987). We disagree. Our ruling in Hansen, as stated above, allowed a limited cause of action for a minor to recover for his or her alcohol related injuries. Hansen is consistent with the rulings of the Court of Appeals which indicate that although
In Purchase, we held that a third person injured by an intoxicated minor has a cause of action in negligence against the commercial vendor who sold the alcohol to the minor in violation of
Our ruling in Purchase, however, involved liability for a commercial vendor not a social host. The statute prohibiting commercial vendors from selling alcohol to minors does not provide for exceptions, whereas the prohibition against furnishing alcohol to minors does.
In addition to the exceptions to liability under
ATTORNEYS FEES
Defendants argue that they are entitled to reasonable attorneys fees as the prevailing party pursuant to
In this case the Plaintiffs did not seek an award of $10,000 or less. No specific amount was pleaded in the complaint; rather, the amount was set to be proven at trial. Thus, the Plaintiffs did not limit their award and based on their claim for damages and relief could have received well above $10,000 in damages.6 Consequently, Defendants are not entitled to reasonable attorneys fees pursuant to
Defendants also ask for costs based on
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we decline to extend social host liability to third persons injured by intoxicated minors. We have long recognized that social hosts are ill-equipped to handle the responsibilities of their guests’ alcohol consumption, unlike commercial vendors who are in the business of serving and selling alcohol. Thus, we have not allowed a cause of action against social hosts to the extent that we have recognized commercial vendor liability. Washington courts have also recognized that
GUY and ALEXANDER, JJ., concur.
DURHAM, Chief Justice, concurring.
I agree with the majority that the Defendants, as social host, should not be liable for injuries to third parties caused by an intoxicated minor guest. I am not persuaded, however, by the majority‘s suggestion that the parental exception to the otherwise criminal prohibition against furnishing alcohol to minors somehow indicates that third parties are not within the statutory protected class. Instead, I would hold that the Defendants are not liable for the reasons expressed in the dissent in Hansen v. Friend, 118 Wash.2d 476, 486-87, 824 P.2d 483 (1992) (Dolliver, J., dissenting).
DOLLIVER and SANDERS, JJ., concur.
JOHNSON, Justice, dissenting.
The majority holds a social host who furnishes alcohol to a minor, in violation of a criminal statute, does not owe a duty of care to third persons injured by that intoxicated minor. I disagree with the majority‘s shielding from possible civil liability persons who commit a criminal act. I also disagree with the majority‘s analysis, which confuses the issues of duty and ultimate liability. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.
This court has clearly recognized where the Legislature has made it a criminal offense to furnish alcohol to a minor, that minor has a civil cause of action. Hansen v. Friend, 118 Wash.2d 476, 480, 824 P.2d 483 (1992). This court has also clearly recognized where the Legislature has made it a criminal offense to sell alcohol to a minor, third parties foreseeably injured by that minor have a civil cause of action. Purchase v. Meyer, 108 Wash.2d 220, 228, 737 P.2d 661 (1987). The majority draws an insupportable distinction between social hosts and commercial vendors by ignoring that both are committing criminal acts when they furnish alcohol to a minor. The majority declines to recognize that a party injured by an underage drunk driver has a civil cause of action against the social host who furnished alcohol to that minor.
The Legislature, in criminalizing the act of furnishing or selling alcohol to a minor, has declared that act as the point on which to focus in the causal chain of underage drunk driving. The Legislature has directed us to view the point at which a minor is furnished or sold alcohol as the significant event from which consequences flow. If the minor never obtains the alcohol, the causal chain is stopped.
The majority, however, leaves us with the rule that a person commits a crime by furnishing alcohol to a minor, and yet avoids all civil liability for the consequences of that same act. This contradicts common sense. The Legislature has established the public policy of criminalizing the furnishing of alcohol to a minor. The majority ignores this established policy and replaces it with its own version of policy, based on the fact that “an expanded duty to protect third persons raises problematic questions for social hosts in all contexts.” Majority at 764. The list of concerns for social host expressed by the majority places more emphasis on the possible difficulties posed for social hosts than on a potential remedy for victims of underage drunk driving. However, it is the social hosts that are in the best position to know the ages of the guest they are serving and to
Under the majority, we are also left with the strained result of different standards for commercial vendors than for social hosts who furnish alcohol to minors. A vendor owes a duty to third parties, whereas a social host does not. The majority justifies this result based on the parental/guardian exception to criminal liability for furnishing alcohol to minors, explaining the differences between vendors and social hosts, and relying on policy concerns expressed by this court in Burkhart v. Harrod, 110 Wash.2d 381, 386-87, 755 P.2d 759 (1988). I find no justification exists for applying different standards to vendors than to social hosts who furnish alcohol to minors. Both commit crimes. In Burkhart, we held a social host who serves an obviously intoxicated adult does not owe a duty to third parties injured by the intoxicated adult Burkhart, 110 Wash.2d at 386-87, 755 P.2d 759. The policy concerns expressed in Burkhart do not apply to a social host liability in the context of an intoxicated minor. And since Burkhart, this court has recognized social host liability. We did so in Hansen, 118 Wash.2d 476, 824 P.2d 483. Victims suffer no less at the hands of an intoxicated minor served by a vendor than at the hands of those served by a social host. The source of the alcohol should not dictate whether a remedy is available.
The majority also creates the strained result of different civil liability for the person committing the crime of furnishing alcohol to a minor, depending on whether the minor or an innocent bystander is consequently injured. The majority reaches its conclusion, in part, by stating Hansen did not extend social host liability to injured third parties, but rather created a limited cause of action for injured, intoxicated minors against the social host who furnished them alcohol. Majority at 764. However, the express holding of Hansen is that under
Previous cases indicate injured third parties are members of the class protected under
Purchase held an injured third party has a negligence per se claim against a vendor who sells alcohol to a minor. Purchase, 108 Wash.2d at 228, 737 P.2d 661. In reaching this decision, we found
The majority bolsters its conclusion that
The majority also confuses the issues of duty and ultimate liability. If the Hicks owe a duty to Reynolds not to serve alcohol to Steven, a minor, the inquiry regarding liability does not end there, as the majority seems to fear. Whether a party owes a duty to the plaintiff is a question of law. Hansen, 118 Wash.2d at 479, 824 P.2d 483. However, the concept of foreseeability determines the scope of the duty owed, and foreseeability is an issue for the trier of fact. Hansen, 118 Wash.2d at 483, 824 P.2d 483. To establish foreseeability, “the harm sustained must be reasonably perceived as being with the general field of danger covered by the specific duty owed by the defendant.” Christen v. Lee, 113 Wash.2d 479, 479, 780 P.2d 1307 (1989) (quoting Maltman v. Sauer, 84 Wash.2d 975, 981, 530 P.2d 254 (1975)). Ultimate liability also cannot be found without affirmative findings regarding the remaining three elements of negligence, namely breach of the duty, resulting injury, and proximate cause. Hansen, 118 Wash.2d at 485, 824 P.2d 483. Thus, once a duty is owed, the well established principles of negligence limit and shape the possibility and scope of any recovery.
The majority, however, prefers to prohibit any cause of action as a matter of law, rather than allowing these principles to dictate the remedies available to third parties injured by underage drunk drivers. A breach of duty not to furnish alcohol to a minor would not constitute negligence per se, but would be considered as evidence of negligence.
Under
For the above reasons, I dissent.
SMITH and TALMADGE, JJ., concur.
Notes
“The court may adopt as the standard of conduct of a reasonable [person] the requirements of a legislature enactment ... whose purpose is found to be exclusively or in part
“(a) to protect a class of persons which includes the one whose interest is invaded, and
“(b) to protect the particular interest which is invaded, and
“(c) to protect that interest against the kind of harm which has resulted, and
“(d) to protect that interest against the particular hazard from which the harm results.” At issue in this case is whether Reynolds is within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect.
“The court may adopt as the standard of conduct of a reasonable man the requirements of a legislative enactment or an administrative regulation whose purpose is found to be exclusively or in part
“(a) to protect a class of persons which includes the one whose interest is invaded, and
“(b) to protect the particular interest which is invaded, and
“(c) to protect that interest against the kind of harm which has resulted, and
“(d) to protect that interest against the particular hazard from which the harm results.”
“Every person who shall sell any intoxicating liquor to any minor shall be guilty of a violation of Title 66 RCW.”