Party hosts are not legally liable for the actions of their drunken guests once they leave the premises, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday.
The ruling closes the door for a large liability award for Ottawa-area woman Zoe Childs, who was just 18 when a drunk driver smashed into the car she was riding in early on the morning of Jan. 1, 1999.
Her boyfriend Derek Dupre was killed and Childs was left a paraplegic.
The driver of the other car, Desmond Desormeaux, then 39, was a self-confessed alcoholic with two previous impaired-driving convictions who had just left a New Year's Eve party.
In a unanimous decision Friday, Canada's top court upheld earlier lower court rulings which ruled that the hosts of the party were not responsibile for Childs' injuries.
"I conclude 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," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.
Kirk Stevens, who represents Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada, told Newsnet he was a "little disappointed, but not entirely surprised" by the ruling.
"The court is leaving the door open in a case where someone is actively serving alcohol to someone who is visibly impaired," Stevens said after the ruling.
"I don't think this is a free pass to people who host parties."
Party hosts
Childs sued for $6 million in damages from Desormeaux and from Dwight Courrier and Julie Zimmerman -- the hosts of the party he had just left.
Desormeaux, however, has virtually no financial assets, so the full burden of damages could have fallen on Courrier and Zimmerman if they were held liable.
Eric Williams, defence lawyer for Zimmerman and Courrier, said the long-running case had been a "devastating time" for his clients.
"They've been facing these accusations since 1999," he told reporters outside the court Friday.
A key issue in the Childs case was whether so-called social hosts -- private citizens -- were bound by the same rules as commercial establishments.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that bars, restaurants and other commercial purveyors of alcohol have a "duty of care'' not only to the people doing the drinking, but also to third parties such as the drivers they may encounter later on the highway.
Bar owners can be held liable if they keep serving an obviously drunk customer, or allow one to drive away.
In 2002, Justice James Chadwick of the Ontario Superior Court refused to rule in favour of Childs, saying that a finding of liability would place an "intolerable burden on all social hosts" and home insurance premiums would rise.
The Ontario Court of Appeal also rejected Childs' claim for damages, saying there was no negligence by the hosts since it was a bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) party.
Over the limit
Evidence in the lower courts showed Desormeaux probably consumed 10 to 12 beers in two hours at the New Year's party. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
There were conflicting opinions, however, on how drunk he appeared to his hosts and fellow guests. Most said he seemed all right to them.
Zimmerman and Courrier said they didn't know how much their friend was drinking because they didn't serve him as it was a BYOB party.
Desormeaux admitted he knew he was over the legal limit but "I figured it was only a 15-minute ride and it was all back roads."
Desormeaux was called a "ticking time bomb" by the judge who sentenced him to 10 years in prison on criminal charges arising from the crash.
The Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments last December, delivered its judgment Friday morning.
With files from the Canadian Press
