(a)  No licensee is liable for damages resulting from a good faith refusal to serve liquor to any individual who:

(1)  Fails to show proper identification of age;

(2)  Reasonably appears to be a minor; or

(3)  Is refused service in a good faith effort to prevent him or her from becoming visibly intoxicated.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-13

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Licensee: means the person to whom a license of any kind is issued by the local licensing authority and any person who is required to be licensed to serve or to permit the consumption of liquor. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
  • Liquor: means any intoxicating beverage which contains more than three and two tenths percent (3. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
  • Minor: means any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3
  • Visibly intoxicated: means a state of intoxication accompanied by a perceptible act or series of acts presenting an apparent sign or signs of intoxication. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-14-3

(b)  No licensee is liable for retaining identification documents presented to the licensee as proof of the individual’s age for the purpose of receiving liquor provided:

(1)  Retention is for a reasonable length of time in a good faith effort to determine whether the individual is of legal age; and

(2)  The licensee informs the individual why he or she is retaining the identification documents.

(c)  This section does not limit a licensee’s right to assert any other defense provided by law.

(d)  A licensee may not be held liable under this chapter for failing to exercise any privilege provided in this section; however, this subsection does not provide immunity from liability under § 3-14-6 and § 3-14-7.

History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 537, § 2.