Ga. Supreme Court says convenience store liable for fatal accident

By Michelle Wirth

Atlanta, GA – The Georgia Supreme Court overturned a summary court judgment issued by the Georgia Court of Appeals 6 to 1. The opinion could have enormous implications on convenience and other stores that sell packaged alcohol. The Georgia Supreme Court found that a convenience store can be liable for a fatal highway accident after selling alcohol to someone who is visibly intoxicated.

The court ruled that Exprezit! Stores 98-Georgia could be held liable for selling a 12-pack of beer to a man named Billy Grundell. Grundell was noticeably intoxicated when making the purchase in a Clinch County convenience store. He later struck a van with his vehicle and killed himself and five other people. Attorney and WABE Legal Analyst Page Pate says the ruling is significant.

"The dram shop act which normally had in the past had only applied only to bars, restaurants, clubs will now apply to any facility, convenience store, grocery store, package store that sells alcohol."

Pate says the dram shop act traditionally made it possible for bars and restaurants who sold to minors or those who were visibly intoxicated to be held liable for any damage or injury those patrons caused. He says Georgia lawmakers could potentially introduce legislation to exclude convenience and other stores that sell packaged alcohol from the state's dram shop law.

Writing for the court's majority, Justice Hugh Thompson says the state's dram shop act applies to the sale of closed packaged containers of alcohol based on the act's language. He says language in the statute indicates that sale of alcohol at a variety of locations is anticipated. Justice Robert Benham dissented. He writes that the dram shop act has never applied to locations that do not sell alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, which represents a third of the convenience stores in the state, says it already trains the stores it represents not to sell to those who are noticeably drunk.