The Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania held that Section 4-497 of the Pennsylvania Dram Shop Act prohibits common law negligence claims against a liquor licensee.

The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident when his vehicle was struck by the defendant-driver’s vehicle, which ran a red light. The plaintiff alleged that prior to the accident, the defendant-driver was served alcoholic beverages at the defendant-bar, which was a liquor licensee. In the amended complaint, the plaintiff averred that the defendant-bar failed to monitor drinks, ensure that the defendant-driver did not drive, maintain adequate staffing and procedures, and hire, train and supervise employees. The defendant-bar raised preliminary objections and argued that the allegations seeking to hold it, a liquor licensee, liable for common law negligence were legally insufficient. The defendant-bar argued that Section 4-497 of the Dram Shop Act was the exclusive remedy available to a person injured as a result of the sale of alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person. In deciding the preliminary objections, the court noted that there were no Pennsylvania appellate decisions that addressed the particular issue of whether Section 4-497 preempted common law negligence claims against a liquor licensee. Replying upon Detweiler v. Brumbaugh, 656 A.2d 944 (Pa. Super. 1995), and Hiles v. The Brandywine Club, 662 A.2d 16 (Pa. Super. 1995), as well as a few Court of Common Pleas decisions, the court held that Section 4-497 is a liability-limiting provision that preempts common law negligence claims against a liquor licensee. As such, the court held that Section 4-497 limits the liability of liquor licensees to third persons to the sale of alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons. The court, therefore, granted the defendant-bar’s preliminary objections and struck the common law negligence averments from the amended complaint.

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