Social Host Liability

Social Host Liability

Are you putting yourself at risk of a lawsuit when you host a party?

Most people have heard that bar owners can be held liable for injuries caused by the customers they served, who later get into car accidents while under the influence of alcohol. And many people naturally assume that the same rule applies to people who host parties in their homes, but the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that social hosts do not have the same obligations as commercial hosts.

In Childs v. Desormeaux (2006), the Supreme Court heard the appeal of Zoe Childs, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 1999. Mr. Desmond Desormeaux, the driver of the other car, had recently come from a friend’s house party, where he’d had 12 beers over the course of two and a half hours. Ms. Childs launched a suit against Mr. Desormeaux, but also against the hosts of the party, claiming that they should have prevented Mr. Desormeaux from driving, given the amount of alcohol he’d consumed.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Mr. Desormeaux did not appear to be impaired, and the hosts were not required to monitor how much alcohol he’d had to drink, in that situation. The Court pointed out that a guest of a house party does not "leave his responsibility at the door" when he attends the party, and must retain responsibility for his own actions. As a social host, you do not have the same level of responsibility that a commercial host would have in the same situation.

However if your guests are visibly impaired, you may be responsible for making sure they don’t drive that night. The Supreme Court did not address whether you have a responsibility to stop a guest from driving if he is obviously too drunk to drive, leaving this question open for another case. Also, you may be liable for your guest’s drunken driving if you do take active steps to monitor her alcohol consumption, and then fail to try to prevent her from driving away from the party. This area of the law is still evolving, and the courts will continue to evaluate situations on a case-by-case basis until the law matures. A good rule of thumb is: if your guest appears impaired, call her a cab.

If you are concerned about a specific situation, or wish advice about a party you are planning to host, be sure to contact a lawyer, who can advise you about the particular details of your situation.