Underage Drinking and Social Host Liability in Ohio

People are injured and killed by drunk drivers every day. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, almost 13,000 people were killed in 2007 in alcohol-related crashes. Countless other people suffered serious injuries in automobile accidents caused by drunk drivers. Given the death and destruction that is caused due to alcohol related negligence each year, many states are enacting laws in an attempt to prevent this damage.

The State of Ohio has enacted a number of laws in order to deter underage drinking,DUI/OVI and the damage caused by underage drinking. Some of the most stringent laws involve civil and criminal liability on the part of social hosts. A social host can be defined as an individual or business who serves alcohol in a social setting.

Under Ohio law, a social host is barred from providing alcohol to people under the age of 21. Under Ohio law, a person who knowingly allows a person under the age of 21 to drink alcohol on their premises is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor. A first degree misdemeanor in Ohio is punishable by a $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail.

Additionally, social hosts face civil liability under certain circumstances. A social host can be found liable if they knowingly allow a person under the age of 21 to drink, and that person later injures or kills another person.

Social host liability is similar to dram shop (bars, taverns, liquor stores, any establishment that sells alcohol) liability. Dram shop laws impose liability on bars when they knowingly overserve someone who is obviously intoxicated, and that person injures another. However,  dram shop liability can apply to people of all ages, while social host liability in Ohio applies only to people under the age of 21 who cause injuries to another person.

Encourage all guests to use designated drivers and provide alternative forms of transportation, such as free taxis or vans. Rather than letting someone wander out the door in an obvious intoxicated state, it makes sense to enlist another guest headed in their direction.

Bottom Line:  If you have these questions:  

• Am I liable if an intoxicated party guest lied and told me he was going home in a taxi but instead drove and was involved in an accident?
• Am I liable if a guest was secretly giving alcohol to a minor without my knowledge?
• Would I be liable if a guest who drank at my party went to a bar after my party and then got in a car accident?