I wrote last month about Braylon Edward's drunk driving arrest and New York State's drunk driving laws. Edwards was lucky that there was no accident. Not just for his safety and that of his passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians, but because penalties are often more sever when there is an accident. However, in addition to criminal penalties, drunk driving accidents often result in civil lawsuits as well.
Anyone harmed by a drunk driver is likely to sue not only the driver, but also the person who provided the alcohol. Thus, it is not uncommon for an accident victim to sue a bar for serving a person who went on to drive drunk and cause an injury. One Nassau County bar, faced with a lawsuit from the victim of a drunk driver, tried to put a novel twist on an old routine.
The facts of the case are as follows. Plaintiff, Defendant, and two friends went drinking at the Nassau County bar. Defendant agreed to serve as designated driver, but the two friends spent all night buying him drinks which the defendant bar continued to serve. When Defendant attempted to drive in an inebriated state, he was involved in a one-car accident that injured the Plaintiff. When the Plaintiff sued the Defendant and the Defendant Bar, the Defendant Bar turned around and sued the two friends for buying their designated driver alcohol.
The Nassau County Court dismissed the bar's case. In doing so, the Court rejected the Bar's position that those who benefit from an agreement with a designated driver owe a duty to third parties not to then buy the designated driver alcohol. While a moral duty may exist, no legal duty exists to prevent injuries to third parties and the existence of the designated driver agreement does nothing to change this general rule. Buying your designated driver alcohol may be enormously stupid, but, it appears that it won't subject you to a lawsuit.
Before you go out and celebrate the fact that buying your designated driver a drink may not subject you to civil liability, it is plausible that it could subject you to criminal liability. Some states have prosecuted people who assist drunk drivers, typically by letting them drive their car when they have reason to know they are drunk. It is not inconceivable to me that buying your designated driver drinks. and then letting him drive drunk, could result in criminal charges for aiding abetting drunk driving, especially if it results in injury or death to a third party. As New York continues to aggressively fight drunk driving, it would not surprise me if the test "aiding and abetting" case is right around the corner.
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