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Iowa Code (Last Updated: December 05, 2016) |
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Title IV. PUBLIC HEALTH |
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Chapter 123. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL |
Section 123.92. Civil liability for dispensing or sale and service of beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor (Dramshop Act) — liability insurance — underage persons.
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1. a. Any person who is injured in person or property or means of support by an intoxicated person or resulting from the intoxication of a person, has a right of action for all damages actually sustained, severally or jointly, against any licensee or permittee, whether or not the license or permit was issued by the division or by the licensing authority of any other state, who sold and served any beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the intoxicated person when the licensee or permittee knew or should have known the person was intoxicated, or who sold to and served the person to a point where the licensee or permittee knew or should have known the person would become intoxicated.
b. If the injury was caused by an intoxicated person, a permittee or licensee may establish as an affirmative defense that the intoxication did not contribute to the injurious action of the person.
2. a. Every liquor control licensee and class “B” beer permittee, except a class “E” liquor control licensee, shall furnish proof of financial responsibility by the existence of a liability insurance policy in an amount determined by the division. If an insurer provides dramshop liability insurance at a new location to a licensee or permittee who has a positive loss experience at other locations for which such insurance is provided by the insurer, and the insurer bases premium rates at the new location on the negative loss history of the previous licensee or permittee at that location, the insurer shall examine and consider adjusting the premium for the new location not less than thirty months after the insurance is issued, based on the loss experience of the licensee or permittee at that location during that thirty-month period of time.
b. A dramshop liability insurance policy may be written on an aggregate limit basis.
c. The purpose of dramshop liability insurance is to provide protection for members of the public who experience damages as a result of licensees or permittees serving patrons beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to a point that reaches or exceeds the standard set forth in law for liability. Minimum coverage requirements for such insurance are not for the purpose of making the insurance affordable for all licensees or permittees regardless of claims experience. A dramshop liability insurance policy obtained by a licensee or permittee shall meet the minimum insurance coverage requirements as determined by the division and is a mandatory condition for holding a license or permit.
3. a. Notwithstanding section 123.49, subsection 1, any person who is injured in person or property or means of support by an intoxicated person who is under legal age or resulting from the intoxication of a person who is under legal age, has a right of action for all damages actually sustained, severally or jointly, against a person who is not a licensee or permittee and who dispensed or gave any beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the intoxicated underage person when the nonlicensee or nonpermittee who dispensed or gave the beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the underage person knew or should have known the underage person was intoxicated, or who dispensed or gave beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the underage person to a point where the nonlicensee or nonpermittee knew or should have known that the underage person would become intoxicated.
b. If the injury was caused by an intoxicated person who is under legal age, a person who is not a licensee or permittee and who dispensed or gave beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the underage person may establish as an affirmative defense that the intoxication did not contribute to the injurious action of the underage person.
c. For purposes of this subsection, “dispensed” or “gave” means the act of physically presenting a receptacle containing beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the underage person whose actions or intoxication results in the sustaining of damages by another person. However, a person who dispenses or gives beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to an underage person shall only be liable for any damages if the person knew or should have known that the underage person was under legal age.
[C73, §1557; C97, §2418; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §2055; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §129.2; C66, 71, §123.95, 129.2; C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §123.92]