Social Hosting Laws – A Basic Overview

With summer parties in full swing, whether graduation, weddings, Fourth of July celebrations, and more, we wanted to touch upon a subject that you may not have considered before inviting guests to your home and serving alcohol. This is a very important topic whether you are a homeowner, property owner or renter. Our focus is on Rhode Island and Massachusetts laws in this blog and as you will see, there are some differences between the two states, even though they are neighbors.

Social Host Liability in Rhode Island

Social hosts in Rhode Island have limited civil liability. There is a criminal penalty to social hosts who serve alcohol to or otherwise allow minors to possess alcohol, but a social host liability claim cannot be brought to court by an injured party unless a special relationship exists between the guest and host. This ‘special relationship’ is defined as: a social host who provides alcohol to underage guests and that the social host has a duty to protect these underage guests from harm. This ‘special relationship does not apply to a host and guest who is of the legal drinking age.

To put this in perspective, if you provide alcohol to a minor and he or she is injured at your party as a result of his or her drinking, a social host liability claim may be brought against you. A person who is subsequently injured by an intoxicated minor may not have such a claim as there is no ‘special relationship’ with the host.

Social Host Liability in Massachusetts

Massachusetts law defines a social host as someone who provides alcohol to another person as an act of hospitality. No money is exchanged or alcohol sold. No special relationship exists between host and guest. In the state of Massachusetts, simply the act of providing alcohol and allowing its consumption may result in liability regardless of location of the property or if the host owns the property. Property can be a rented property such as a hotel room or a boat, beach, or any property that the host has control over. Also, the legal definition of a social host includes both minors and adults. This is important if you have children who are hosting parties. If your child provides alcohol to another person that then becomes intoxicated and injures a third party, liability can result.

Social host liability expands the liability for injuries caused by drunk driving or other types of accidents related to alcohol from the person who was drinking to the person who actually served the alcohol. If a “Drinker” is served by “Host” and drives and injures another person, that person can hold the “Host” liable for their injuries.

Please note that our goal with this blog is not to scare people from entertaining, but we also believe that being forewarned is forearmed. At Keough + Sweeney, we can help if your case involves driving under the influence or other issues. Call us for more information 401-724-3600.