Dram Shop Liability Arises Both From Statute and Common Law

In a recent decision in the case of Jones v. Scavone, No. 2015-CV-8830 (C.P. Luz. Co. April 15, 2016 Gartley, J.), Judge Tina Polachek Gartley of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas issued a detailed Order in which she denied Preliminary Objections filed against a Plaintiff’s Complaint alleging violations of the Dram Shop Act along with common law negligence claims against, among others, a tavern defendant.  

In overruling the Preliminary Objections, the court specifically stated that a “tavern owner owes a common law duty independent of statute to conduct themselves with reasonable care and prudence dispensing alcohol and to protect others from visibly intoxicated persons.”   

 

Anyone wishing to review this Order may contact me at dancummins@comcast.net.