LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — When a drunk driver kills someone, families in most states can pursue legal action not only against the driver but also against the bar or restaurant that allegedly overserved them. Nevada is among a small group of states where that option generally does not exist, leaving some victims’ relatives without a path to hold alcohol-serving businesses legally responsible.
A recent Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation highlighted the case of 79-year-old Linda Sterner, whose husband was killed by an alleged drunk driver in November. The driver told police he was going home from a bar. When Sterner asked an attorney whether she could sue the bar that served him, she was told she could not.
Attorney Matthew Hoffman of Battle Born Injury Lawyers said Nevada is “a minority jurisdiction,” explaining that “there’s only seven states in the nation that have some kind of, that don’t have dram shop liability.” Dram shop liability refers to laws that allow lawsuits against businesses accused of overserving someone who later causes harm. Hoffman said most states allow those claims, but in Nevada, “you just can’t sue them. It just can’t happen.”
Hoffman said the legal rationale in Nevada has been tied to individual responsibility. “The Supreme Court has spoken on this and said, ‘ Look, drinking alcohol is what causes these accidents and DUIs. Serving it doesn’t. Individual responsibility,” he said.
He also pointed to Nevada’s tourism-driven economy as a factor in why the law has not changed. “We have 40 million visitors a year,” Hoffman said, adding that from the perspective of the industry, dram shop liability “would be pandemonium. The liability would just be outlandish.”
At the same time, Hoffman argued that states with dram shop laws have not seen the kind of widespread fallout critics fear. “Every state that has dram shop liability don’t have this problem,” he said, adding that the possibility of being sued can change behavior: “If you know you can get sued for over serving, you won’t over serve.”
Hoffman said Nevada’s protections for licensed establishments are broad. “It is a complete bar. I don’t care if it’s a minor,” he said, adding that if a licensed establishment serves a minor who later causes an injury or death, “you can’t be sued for it.” He contrasted that with private settings, saying that if a homeowner throws a party and serves minors, “you can be sued, absolutely.”
Hoffman also said tracking repeat problem locations could be part of a solution, particularly in severe cases. He cited the death of Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Alberto Felix, saying Felix was his client before Felix was killed by a drunk driver while on the side of the road issuing a ticket. Hoffman said the driver had been drinking at the Palms and that there was no legal liability for the property under current Nevada law.
He also referenced a 2018 case he described as being captured on video, involving a couple who went to two different establishments and had “18, 20 shots of tequila.” Hoffman said the woman was “falling off a bar stool, drunk,” and that staff escorted them to their car. He said they drove away and “go around the corner and kill a couple,” adding, “No liability.”
Hoffman said any changes should consider that the risks are not limited to tourists. “If you think of on the strip, who’s on the road? The employees. These are residents,” he said. He said he does not expect dram shop liability to “go away entirely,” but he argued there is room for measures that encourage businesses to prevent visibly impaired people from driving, noting that under the current law.
