Southland Corp. v. Lewis

The issue in this case is whether a commercial provider of alcoholic beverages can be liable for injuries allegedly caused by an intoxicated driver when the provider sold alcohol to a passenger in the vehicle and the driver did not purchase or consume any of the alcohol. We hold the provider cannot be liable under these circumstances.

Dori Sue Lewis was injured in an automobile collision with a truck driven by twenty-one-year-old Reed Bulaich. Prior to the accident, Bulaich had been drinking at a private party and then at a local bar. Upon leaving the bar, Bulaich drove some friends to a…