Drunk Drivers can Still Sue Liquor Licensees that Overserve them

by admin on June 2, 2011 in DWI, N.J. Legislation, N.J. No Fault Law, N.J. Supreme Court

AICRA does not bar Dram Shop Act lawsuits by drunk drivers

The N.J. Law Journal reports:

Thanks to some blurriness in statutory drafting, alcoholic beverage servers in New Jersey can be held liable to patrons who drink, drive and crash.

A divided state Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a 1997 automobile insurance statute that nonsuits drunken drivers applies only to litigation with other parties to an accident and does not preempt New Jersey’s dram shop statute, which is a decade older.

“There is a strong presumption against repealing statutory provisions by implication,” the 5-2 per curiam majority wrote in Voss v. Tranquilino, A-110-09. “The required clarity of evidence to support such legislative intent is absent here.”