Bar, Club, and Restaurant Liability in Florida

Currently, Florida law does a very poor job of making bars, clubs and restaurants    legally responsible for continuing to serve persons of lawful drinking age who are already drunk. Many such establishments are very careless in their serving practices because the law is so lax. While the law makes it difficult to sue a bar, club or restaurant for serving too much alcohol, some cases have been successful.

These situations include:

• If the bar willfully and unlawfully sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to any person who was not of lawful drinking age;

• If the bar willfully and unlawfully sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to any person habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages.

Bars, clubs and restaurants which have been found liable for serving underage persons or known habitual drunks usually have created dangerous conditions before. Evidence can possibly exist to show a pattern or history. However, you need an experienced attorney who is willing to work hard to uncover such evidence. While it is often difficult and time consuming to prove the liability of a bar, club or restaurant for the drunken misconduct of a patron, it has been successfully accomplished before by lawyers who truly have an interest in this area of the law. Mr. Asencio is that type of lawyer.

Florida law also imposes civil liability for damages on ANYONE over the age of 18 who allows a house party at a residence they own or control where reasonable steps are not taken to prevent alcohol and drug use by persons under the age of 21.