— Also termed civil-liability act; civil-damage law. [Cases: Intoxicating Liquors 282–324. C.J.S. Intoxicating Liquors §§ 428–463.]
“Largely at the behest of the temperance movement, statutes (called ‘dram shop acts’) were enacted in many states which imposed some form of civil liability on those engaged in the business of selling such beverages in favor of third persons injured thereby …. At one time, almost half the states had such laws; today, that number seems to be declining…. A growing minority of states have overthrown the common law rule and have created a common law dram shop action. In most of these jurisdictions, liability is predicated on statutes which regulate the liquor business and prohibit certain sales by liquor licensees (to minors, intoxicated persons, etc.) thus, where the sale is unlawful, it is negligence per se ….” Edward J. Kionka, Torts in a Nutshell 293–94 (2d ed. 1992).
