Congratulations to M&G Attorneys Jay Thompson and Zach Randolph on the complete dismissal of a set of dram shop liability claims against their client and three other restaurant defendants. South Carolina’s prohibition of first-party dram shop claims prohibits a person from making a claim against a restaurant for an injury resulting in that person’s voluntary intoxication.
In addition, their argument demonstrated: (1) that an additional plaintiff who witnessed the intoxicated person getting injured cannot bring a bystander claim for emotional distress when there is no legally cognizable tort claim for the underlying injury, and (2) that there can be no loss of consortium claim based on injury caused by a spouse’s own intoxication, because it is also barred as a first party dram shop claim.
