02-18-2005, 12:02 AM
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#1
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Djibouti
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The Supreme Court will be hearing a case in the near future that will likely have direct implications for all of us:
"Party hosts and their responsibility for guests' drunken behaviour will be examined by the Supreme Court of Canada"
"The court agreed Thursday to hear an appeal by a woman in Ontario arguing party hosts are liable for the actions of their guests"
"Childs had argued that finding a host liable for the actions of a guest would be simply an extension of well-established rules of negligence for homeowners, such as fixing something that could cause injury on their property"
Link
Should we have to police the people that we have over?
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02-18-2005, 12:07 AM
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#2
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#1 Goaltender
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Ooooooo boy, see if anyone ever has a party ever again if this one wins. See if the lady filing suit ever gets invited to one too. Since when did the host become a babysitter anyways? Would that mean if anything is broken or stolen from the hosts house it's the host's fault then? Like I basically expect the host to give er one round of 'any of you clowns drinking with keys in your pocket can hand em in to me right now and find a nice spot on the floor to crash.' Some drunk decides to keep their keys and drive home, definitely not the hosts fault in my eyes.
Here's to hoping this one doesn't go far...
__________________
"Lend me 10 pounds and I'll buy you a drink.."
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02-18-2005, 12:54 AM
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#3
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Boxed-in
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mike F@Feb 18 2005, 12:02 AM
Should we have to police the people that we have over?
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I don't know the answer to that one, but it appears that the Supreme Court will once again be *making* the law in this country. Seriously...if there's any ambiguity in the law, parliament should bloody well change it to reflect what the people intend, rather than what one woman thinks.
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02-18-2005, 09:36 AM
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#5
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Lifetime Suspension
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lethbridge
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The liability for a bar is bad enough let alone liability of a host of a party. I would certainly not support this change int he law ans would rather loosen the laws regarding liability in these situations.
Can people not take responsibility of their actions anymore?
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02-18-2005, 09:40 AM
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#6
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Franchise Player
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Quote:
Originally posted by moon@Feb 18 2005, 09:36 AM
Can people not take responsibility of their actions anymore?
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The law, as I understand it now, holds the party-thrower and tavern responsible for their own actions. It's not that you can't have a party, it's just that you have to make sure people at your party don't get really drunk and do stupid hurtful things. If you take proper steps to prevent that kind of thing, you would be okay. You could still be sued but you would have a defence in court.
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02-18-2005, 10:48 AM
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#7
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: sector 7G
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Not a big fan of this if the court allows it. Some people will drive home no matter what. A person back home I recall was given a ride home by someone. He called a cab, went back to his vehicle, and promptly drove head on into a semi truck. You can't tell me they didn't take precautions by driving this guy home.
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02-18-2005, 10:54 AM
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#8
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Franchise Player
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In those kinds of situations, you would probably be protected provided you took all reasonable steps to make sure your guest didn't drive home drunk. The drunk guy probably doesn't have the capacity to make a rational decision so the onus on the (presumably) sober host is even greater. Maybe this case will come back and say you better physically remove the keys from your guest and/or make sure the dude takes a cab. After the case is decided, we'll know for sure.
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02-18-2005, 11:23 AM
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#9
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Lifetime Suspension
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lethbridge
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I had a buddy that drove home drunk after I took away two sets of his keys. Nothing happened but I am now goign to be held responsible because he had three sets of keys?
I guess I think that if you go to the bar and get drunk you should be responsible for anything that you do thereafter. If I get hit by a drunk driver and killed I sure as hell hope that it is him that is held responsible and not the bar he was at.
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02-18-2005, 12:16 PM
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#11
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Lifetime Suspension
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lethbridge
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The problem with being a "responsible host" is that you then have treat guests like babies almost. If some guy gets drunk and I put him to bed do I now have to stay up all night to make sure that he doesn't get up in the night and drive home drunk? Do I have to look my door to ensure that he doesn't sneak out sometime when I am not looking? Just doesn't seem like a very fun time for me at my own party.
At a bar how do I know if the guy ordering drinks at the bar isn't actually giving them to his buddy that is drunk/cut off/told to take a break?
How do you know buddy didn't have a few drinks at the bar and then drink so more in his car before driving away?
There are way to many factors invloved to say that it was the fault of the bartender and/or bar in these situations.
Especially when it was nobody's fault other than the guy who drove drunk.
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02-18-2005, 12:41 PM
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#12
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Franchise Player
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Well, in most of the cases you talk about the host/bartender probably wouldn't be liable. Might not stop you from getting sued but you would have a good defence in court. I know it's not particularly reassuring to know you might have to suffer through the whole process to be vindicated...
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02-18-2005, 12:46 PM
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#13
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Estonia
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I think the best way around this is if you are the host just get drunk. Has there not been exceptions made for people who were too drunk to know what they were doing? If you're loaded how can you be responsible for who drives home?
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02-18-2005, 12:48 PM
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#14
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Lifetime Suspension
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lethbridge
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You are right you may not be liable in the ned but do want to have to go through all of this because you had a party?
Should bartenders go through all this because they work in the industry?
It seems as though that cases such as these are the ones that p*ss people off and then it is the cases where hosts/bartenders actually have done something wrong that are then discounted as well.
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02-18-2005, 01:12 PM
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#15
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Scoring Winger
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Edmonton
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"Hey guys, thank for coming over, this is going to be an awesome party. Hold on, before you come in, I need you all to sign a waiver."
I can see people doing this...
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