Dram Shop Act Applies to Third Parties - Not First Party Purchasers

Since 1996 when the Tennessee Supreme Court pronounced in Worley v. Weigels that the common law in regard to the negligent sale of alcoholic beverages had been replaced with the Dram Shop Law, litigants have wondered whether first party purchasers of alcohol might recover under the act. Finally, they have their answer.

According to the Eastern Section Court of Appeals, the Tennessee Dram Shop law is applicable only to plaintiffs who were not the initial purchasers of alcoholic beverages - "first parties" as they are called in Montgomery v. Kali Orexi LLC.

"On this issue of first impression we hold that Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 57-
10-101 and 102 apply only to third parties and do not permit an action against a seller of an 'alcoholic beverage or beer' by or on behalf of the supplied party, i.e., a first party."

Since the Dram Shop Act does not address first parties, according to the Court of Appeals, its enactment leaves the law as to first parties as it existed before the Act’s enactment. The law preceding enactment of the Tennessee Dram Shop Act is found in Brookins v. Roundtable, Inc., 393 S.W. 2d 755 (1981).

"In Brookins, the Supreme Court stated, '[W]hether the sale of intoxicants is the proximate cause of subsequent injuries is essentially a question of foreseeability . . . .' 624 S.W.2d at 549 (adopting Mitchell v. Ketner, 54 Tenn. App. 656, 666, 393 S.W.2d 755, 759 (1964))."