Rhode Island § 3-14-7 - Rhode Island Liquor Liability Act

§ 3-14-7. Liability for reckless service of liquor.

(a) A defendant, as defined in § 3-14-5, who recklessly provides liquor to a minor is liable for damages proximately caused by that minor’s consumption of the liquor.

(b) A defendant, as defined in § 3-14-5, who recklessly serves liquor to a visibly intoxicated individual is liable for damages proximately caused by that individual’s consumption of the liquor.

(c)(1) Service of liquor is reckless if a defendant intentionally serves liquor to an individual when the server knows that the individual being served is a minor or is visibly intoxicated, and the server consciously disregards an obvious and substantial risk that serving liquor to that individual will cause physical harm to the drinker or to others.

(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the disregard of the risk, when viewed in light of the nature and purpose of the server’s conduct and the circumstances known to him or her, must involve a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent person would observe in the same situation.

(d) Specific serving practices that are admissible as evidence of reckless conduct include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Active encouragement of intoxicated individuals to consume substantial amounts of liquor;

(2) Service of liquor to an individual who is under twenty-one (21) years old when the server has actual or constructive knowledge of the individual’s age; and

(3) Service of liquor to an individual that is so continuous and excessive that it creates a substantial risk of death by alcohol poisoning.