The Georgia Court of Appeals recently held that an employer could not be held liable to an employee injured at a work-sponsored party based on the fact that the employer provided alcoholic beverages. Solley v. Mullins Trucking Co., Inc., 2009 WL 4681036 (Ga.App. Dec. 10, 2009).
Jimmy Mullins was the sole officer and shareholder of Mullins Trucking, and Barbara Solley was employed as its office manager. On March 17, 2006, Mullins Trucking hosted its annual party at a hotel; the company provided food and alcoholic beverages. During the party, Mullins became intoxicated and allegedly assaulted Solley in her hotel room. Solley subsequently filed a complaint against Mullins Trucking, alleging that the company was negligent in hosting a party with alcohol and in failing to stop a dangerous activity of which it was aware. Solley argued that the company owed her a duty equivalent to a landowner’s duty to protect a social guest from the reasonably anticipated conduct of another. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Mullins Trucking, and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed.
Providers of alcohol are insulated from third-party claims of negligence except as provided in O.C.G.A. § 51-1-40, which applies to individual and employers. Specifically, “…a person who…knowingly sells, furnishes, or serves alcoholic beverages to a person who is in a state of noticeable intoxication, knowing that such person will soon be driving a motor vehicle, may become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such…person when the sale, furnishing, or serving is the proximate cause of such injury or damage.” Here, Solley’s injuries were not the result of a motor vehicle accident proximately caused by Mullins Trucking serving alcohol to a noticeably intoxicated person. Furthermore, because the statute specifically sets forth that only the consumption, not the service of alcohol, is the proximate cause of injuries inflicted by the intoxicated person, Mullins Trucking could not be held liable for Solley’s injuries. Therefore, the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of Mullins Trucking.
For more information, please contact Timothy Buckley III, Esq. at (404) 633-9230.