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Iowa's Dram Shop Act
Question: What must a person prove to recover damages against a bar (dram shop) under Iowa’s Dram Shop Act?
Answer: In Iowa, the person bringing suit against a dramshop must prove the bar was licensed by the State of Iowa to sell beer, wine, or liquor. They must also prove the dramshop sold and served the intoxicated person to a point where the employees of the dram shop knew or should have known intoxicated person would become intoxicated.
The person suing may prove in the alternative that the bar sold and served the liquor when the bar’s employees knew or should have known the intoxicated person was intoxicated.
The Plaintiff in a dramshop suit must prove the intoxication was the proximate cause of injury to the Plaintiff and the amount of those damages.
Question: How do Iowa’s Courts define ‘intoxication’ for purposes of dram shop liability?
Answer: A person is "intoxicated," if, by drinking beer, wine, or liquor, one or more of the following is true: The person’s reason or mental ability has been affected, his judgment is impaired, his emotions are visibly excited or he has, to any extent, lost control of bodily actions. Obviously a blood alcohol or breath analysis is relevant.
Question: Does the dram shop have any defenses in situations where it is shown that the person was intoxicated?
Answer: The dram shop can be relieved from liability if it can prove the intoxication did not contribute to the intoxicated person’s injurious actions. The dram shop also has the defense of complicity, where the defendant must prove both that the Plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly encouraged or participated to a substantial and material extent in the person’s becoming intoxicated and as a result, the person became intoxicated and caused the plaintiff's damage.
The bar can also defend on the basis of assumption of risk in cases where the plaintiff "assumed the risk" when he got in the intoxicated person's vehicle.
Posted by Joseph A. Happe on February 22, 2007 11:20 AM
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