Bartenders’ Duty to Cut Off Service to Intoxicated Patrons

Servers who work for restaurants and bars that sell alcoholic beverages pursuant to an ABC permit are prohibited by G.S. 18B-305(a) from knowingly selling or giving alcoholic beverages to a person who is intoxicated.  Violation of this provision is a Class 1 misdemeanor and may result in suspension of the establishment’s ABC permit. In cases where overserving results in injury, the restaurant or bar also may be liable for the damages that result. I’ve often wondered how servers know when to say when. After all, they are engaged in the business of selling alcoholic beverages—drinks that affect the brain functioning of everyone who consumes them. When does the statutory duty override their business interests? The rule.  North Carolina law has prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person for more than 75 years—since enactment of the Beverage Control Act of 1939. See Hutchens v. Hankins, 63 N.C. App. 1, 4 n.1 (1983). The reasons for the rule are obvious:  it protects the consumer of the alcohol as well as the members of the public he or she may encounter after drinking. Id. at 16. To establish a violation, the State must demonstrate that a person with an ABC permit or his or her employee sold or gave an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person and that the server knew the person was intoxicated. There were 17 such charges statewide last year. A recent case. The facts in Davis v. Hulsing Enterprises, __ N.C. App. __ (April 5, 2016), a case [...]