Supreme Court of Canada Renders Social Host Liability Decision

The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled on the issue of whether a so-called “social host,” who invites guests to his or her home for a party, owes a duty of care to a person injured by one of its guests who have consumed alcohol.

In Childs v. Desormeaux, Dwight Courrier and Julie Zimmerman hosted a “BYOB” (Bring Your Own Booze) event. One of their guests, Mr. Desormeaux, drove away from the party while intoxicated. Mr. Courrier confirmed with Mr. Desormeaux whether he was okay, and there was no evidence that Mr. Desormeaux displayed signs of intoxication during their brief conversation.

Soon after driving away from the party, Mr. Desormeaux collided head-on with another vehicle. Several of the passengers in the other car were injured, and one was killed. The action was brought by one of the individuals injured in the accident, Zoe Childs, against the hosts of the party.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada held that “as a general rule, a social host does not owe a duty of care to a person injured by a guest who has consumed alcohol.”

In the Court’s view, holding a private party at which alcohol is served, is insuffi cient to implicate the host in the creation of risk suffi cient to give rise to a duty of care to third parties who may be subsequently injured by the conduct of a guest.

In coming to this conclusion, the Court drew an important distinction between serving alcohol in a commercial setting versus a non-commercial setting.

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