1. A person shall not sell, dispense, or give to an intoxicated person, or one simulating intoxication, any alcoholic beverage.

 a. A person other than a person required to hold a license or permit under this chapter who dispenses or gives an alcoholic beverage in violation of this subsection is not civilly liable to an injured person or the estate of a person for injuries inflicted on that person as a result of intoxication by the consumer of the alcoholic beverage.
 b. The general assembly declares that this subsection shall be interpreted so that the holding of Clark v. Mincks, 364 N.W.2d 226 (Iowa 1985) is abrogated in favor of prior judicial interpretation finding the consumption of alcoholic beverages rather than the serving of alcoholic beverages as the proximate cause of injury inflicted upon another by an intoxicated person.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 123.49

  • Alcohol: means the product of distillation of any fermented liquor rectified one or more times, whatever may be the origin thereof, and includes synthetic ethyl alcohol. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Alcoholic beverage: means any beverage containing more than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume including alcoholic liquor, wine, and beer. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Alcoholic liquor: means the varieties of liquor defined in subsections 3 and 49 which contain more than six and twenty-five hundredths percent of alcohol by volume, beverages made as described in subsection 7 which beverages contain more than six and twenty-five hundredths percent of alcohol by volume but which are not wine as defined in subsection 53, high alcoholic content beer as defined in subsection 22, or canned cocktails as defined in subsection 11, and every other liquid or solid, patented or not, containing spirits and every beverage obtained by the process described in subsection 53 containing more than twenty-one and twenty-five hundredths percent of alcohol by volume, and susceptible of being consumed by a human being, for beverage purposes. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Beer: means any liquid capable of being used for beverage purposes made by the fermentation of an infusion in potable water of barley, malt, and hops, with or without unmalted grains or decorticated and degerminated grains or made by the fermentation of or by distillation of the fermented products of fruit, fruit extracts, or other agricultural products, containing more than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume but not more than six and twenty-five hundredths percent of alcohol by volume. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Club: means any nonprofit corporation or association of individuals, which is the owner, lessee, or occupant of a permanent building or part thereof, membership in which entails the prepayment of regular dues and is not operated for a profit other than such profits as would accrue to the entire membership. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Division: means the alcoholic beverages division of the department of commerce established by this chapter. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Legal age: means twenty-one years of age or more. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • license: means an express written authorization issued by the division for the manufacture or sale, or both, of alcoholic liquor, wine, or beer. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Mixed drink or cocktail: means an alcoholic beverage, composed in whole or in part of alcoholic liquor, that is combined with other alcoholic beverages or nonalcoholic beverages or ingredients including but not limited to ice, water, soft drinks, or flavorings. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • motel: means premises licensed by the department of inspections and appeals and regularly or seasonally kept open in a bona fide manner for the lodging of transient guests, and with twenty or more sleeping rooms. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Package: means any container or receptacle used for holding alcoholic liquor. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Person: means any individual, association, or partnership, any corporation, limited liability company, or other similar legal entity, any club, hotel or motel, or any municipal corporation owning or operating a bona fide airport, marina, park, coliseum, auditorium, or recreational facility in or at which the sale of alcoholic liquor, wine, or beer is only an incidental part of the ownership or operation. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • premises: means all rooms, enclosures, contiguous areas, or places susceptible of precise description satisfactory to the administrator where alcoholic beverages, wine, or beer is sold or consumed under authority of a retail alcohol license, wine permit, or beer permit. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • Retail alcohol license: means a class "B" class "C" special class "C" class "D" class "E" or class "F" retail alcohol license, or a special class "B" retail native wine license issued under this chapter. See Iowa Code 123.3
  • seal: shall include an impression upon the paper alone, or upon wax, a wafer affixed to the paper, or an official stamp of a notarial officer as provided in chapter 9B. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • sell: means a transfer of title or of the right to use by lease, bailment, or any other means, but excludes a wholesale transaction with a distributor or hearing aid specialist, and excludes the temporary, charitable loan or educational loan of a hearing aid without remuneration. See Iowa Code 154A.1
  • week: means seven consecutive days. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Wine: means any beverage containing more than six and twenty-five hundredths percent of alcohol by volume but not more than twenty-one and twenty-five hundredths percent of alcohol by volume obtained by the fermentation of the natural sugar contents of fruits or other agricultural products but excluding any product containing alcohol derived from malt or by the distillation process from grain, cereal, molasses, or cactus. See Iowa Code 123.3
 2. A person holding a retail alcohol license under this chapter, and the person’s agents or employees, shall not do any of the following:

 a. Knowingly permit any gambling, except in accordance with chapter 99B, 99D, 99F, or 99G, or knowingly permit solicitation for immoral purposes, or immoral or disorderly conduct on the premises covered by the license or permit.
 b. Sell or dispense any alcoholic beverage on the premises covered by the license, or permit its consumption thereon between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on any day of the week.
 c. Sell alcoholic beverages to any person on credit, except with a bona fide credit card. This provision does not apply to sales by a club to its members, to sales by a hotel or motel to bona fide registered guests, nor to retail sales by the managing entity of a convention center, civic center, or events center.
 d. (1) Keep on premises covered by a retail alcohol license any alcoholic liquor in any container except the original package purchased from the division, and except mixed drinks or cocktails mixed on the premises for immediate consumption on the licensed premises or as otherwise provided by this paragraph “d”. This prohibition does not apply to holders of a class “D” retail alcohol license or to alcoholic liquor delivered in accordance with section 123.46A.

 (2) Mixed drinks or cocktails mixed on the premises that are not for immediate consumption may be consumed on the licensed premises subject to the requirements of this subparagraph pursuant to rules adopted by the division. The rules shall provide that the mixed drinks or cocktails be stored, for no longer than seventy-two hours, in a labeled container in a quantity that does not exceed three gallons. The rules shall also provide that added flavors and other nonbeverage ingredients included in the mixed drinks or cocktails shall not include hallucinogenic substances or added caffeine or other added stimulants including but not limited to guarana, ginseng, and taurine. The rules shall also require that the licensee keep records as to when the contents in a particular container were mixed and the recipe used for that mixture. In addition, mixed drinks or cocktails mixed on the premises pursuant to this subparagraph may be sold for consumption off the licensed premises as provided in and subject to the requirements of subparagraph (3).
 (3) Mixed drinks or cocktails mixed on premises covered by a class “C” retail alcohol license for consumption off the licensed premises may be sold if the mixed drink or cocktail is immediately filled in a sealed container and is promptly taken from the licensed premises prior to consumption of the mixed drink or cocktail. A mixed drink or cocktail that is sold in a sealed container in compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph and rules adopted by the division shall not be deemed an open container subject to the requirements of sections 321.284 and 321.284A if the sealed container is unopened and the seal has not been tampered with, and the contents of the container have not been partially removed.
 (4) For purposes of this paragraph:

 (a) “Sealed container” means a vessel, including a substantial or sturdy plastic container and a vacuum or heat-sealed pouch, containing a mixed drink or cocktail that is designed to prevent consumption without removal of a tamper-evident lid, cap, or seal. “Sealed container” does not include a container with a sipping hole or other opening for a straw, unless the hole or other opening includes a tamper-evident seal, but a straw may be separately provided with a sealed container to the consumer for off-premises consumption.
 (b) “Tamper-evident” means a lid, cap, or seal that visibly demonstrates when a container has been opened.
 e. Reuse for packaging alcoholic liquor or wine any container or receptacle used originally for packaging alcoholic liquor or wine; or adulterate, by the addition of any substance, the contents or remaining contents of an original package of an alcoholic liquor or wine; or knowingly possess any original package which has been so reused or adulterated.
 f. Employ a person under eighteen years of age in the sale or serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises where sold.
 g. Allow any person other than the licensee or employees of the licensee to use or keep on the licensed premises any alcoholic liquor in any bottle or other container which is designed for the transporting of such beverages, except as permitted in section 123.95. This paragraph does not apply to the lodging quarters of a hotel or motel holding a retail alcohol license, or to holders of a class “D” retail alcohol license.
 h. Sell, give, or otherwise supply any alcoholic beverage to any person, knowing or failing to exercise reasonable care to ascertain whether the person is under legal age, or permit any person, knowing or failing to exercise reasonable care to ascertain whether the person is under legal age, to consume any alcoholic beverage.
 i. In the case of a retail wine or beer permittee, knowingly allow the mixing or adding of alcohol or any alcoholic beverage to wine, beer, or any other beverage in or about the permittee’s place of business.
 j. Knowingly permit or engage in any criminal activity on the premises covered by the license. However, the absence of security personnel on the licensed premises is insufficient, without additional evidence, to prove that criminal activity occurring on the licensed premises was knowingly permitted in violation of this paragraph “j”. For purposes of this paragraph “j”, “premises” includes parking lots and areas adjacent to the premises of a retail alcohol licensee authorized to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the licensed premises and used by patrons of the retail alcohol licensee.
 k. Sell, give, possess, or otherwise supply a machine which is used to vaporize an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of being consumed in a vaporized form.
 3. A person under legal age shall not misrepresent the person’s age for the purpose of purchasing or attempting to purchase any alcoholic beverage from any retail alcohol licensee. If any person under legal age misrepresents the person’s age, and the licensee establishes that the licensee made reasonable inquiry to determine whether the prospective purchaser was over legal age, the licensee is not guilty of selling alcoholic beverages to a person under legal age.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 123 Contents