BARBARA BARBER, APPELLANT,
v.
KURT JENSEN, ET AL., APPELLEES
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The court affirmed dismissal of a negligence action by a minor passenger's estate against a merchant who sold alcohol to an intoxicated minor driver, holding that vendors are not liable to third parties injured by intoxicated minors' vehicle operation. The court also certified a conflict with other district courts and a question of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court.
A vendor who sells intoxicating beverages to a minor contrary to § 562.11 is not liable to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor's operation of a motor vehicle. The trial court properly dismissed the complaint for failure to state a cause of action.
[1] A vendor who sells intoxicating beverages to a minor in violation of statute is not liable to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor's operation of a motor vehicl…
[2] A complaint alleging injury or damage caused by an intoxicated minor, resulting from a merchant's sale of alcohol to that minor in violation of statute, fails to state a…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a vendor who sells intoxicating beverages to a minor contrary to the provisions of Section 562.11 is not liable to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor's operation of a motor vehicle”
Establishes the controlling rule that vendors have no liability to third-party victims under these circumstances
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA merchant sold alcoholic beverages to a minor in violation of Florida Statutes § 562.11. The minor became intoxicated and operated a motor vehicle. C…
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PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff’s second amended complaint sought to hold a merchant liable for injury or damage caused by an intoxicated minor. The complaint alleged that the merchant sold alcoholic beverages to a minor in violation of section 562.11, Florida Statutes (1981), and that the minor became intoxicated to the extent that his ability to drive a motor vehicle was impaired. The complaint further alleged that the decedent, Carol Bradian, age 14, a passenger in the intoxicated minor’s automobile, was injured and ultimately died as a direct and proximate result of the merchant’s and the intoxicated minor’s negligence. The trial court granted the merchant’s motion to dismiss, finding that the complaint failed to state a cause of action.
We affirm the decision of the trial court because of our recent holding in Migliore v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc., 425 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). There we said that “a vendor who sells intoxicating beverages to a minor contrary to the provisions of Section 562.11 is not liable to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor’s operation of a motor vehicle.” By applying this rule to the case at bar, we certify that our decision is in direct conflict with the following decisions of other district courts of appeal: Burson v. Gate Petroleum Co., 401 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981); Prevatt v. McClennan, 201 So. 2d 780 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967).
Finally, pursuant to Rule 9.030(a)(2)(A)(v), Fla.R.App.P., we certify the following question to be of great public importance: Prior to May 24, 1980, the effective date of section 768.125, Florida Statutes (1981), did a third party who could establish proximate causation for his injuries, have a cause of action against a person who furnished alcoholic beverages to a minor in violation of section 562.11, Florida Statutes (1981)?
BERANEK and HURLEY, JJ„ and BURNSTEIN, MIETTE K., Associate Judge, concur.
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Burns v. Three OF A Kind, Inc., 439 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…conclude [*1005] that it was error to enter the summary judgment. See Stevens v. Jefferson, 436 So. 2d 33 (Fla.1983); Willis v. Strickland, 436 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); Fitzer v. Forlaw, 435 So. 2d 839 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Barber v. Jensen, 428 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Migliore v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc., 425 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Burson v. Gate Petroleum Co., 401 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). REVERSED and REMANDED. ORFINGER, C.J., and COWART, J., concur. . Section 768.125…
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Barber v. Jensen, 450 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1984)…ALDERMAN, Chief Justice. We review the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, in Barber v. Jensen, 428 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), wherein the district court certified the following question to be of great public importance: * Prior to May 24, 1980, the effective date of section 768.125, Florida Statutes [*831] (1981), did a thirty party who could establis…
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Armstrong v. Munford, Inc., 439 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)…granted, (No. 63,337, 1983), which held that a vendor who sells alcoholic beverages to a minor in violation of section 562.11 is not liable to third persons injured by the intoxicated minor’s operation of a motor vehicle. See also Barber v. Jensen, 428 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), cert. granted (No. 63,598, 1983), in which the Fourth District Court of Appeal certified the question of whether, prior to the effective date of section 768.125, a third party had a cause of action against a person who furnished…
Authorities Cited
- Prevatt v. McCLENNAN, 201 So. 2d 780 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967)
- Burson v. Gate Petroleum Co., 401 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
- Migliore v. Crown Liquors OF Broward, Inc., 425 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)