Schutz v. La Costita III, Inc.

ORS 471.565(1) bars all claims against licensed server(s) of alcohol that are brought by a patron who voluntarily consumes the alcohol served.

Schutz appealed to the trial court’s grant of defendant’s motion to dismiss. Schutz consumed alcohol at defendant’s bar until she became heavily intoxicated. When Schutz was driving home on the wrong side of the road she collided with another vehicle and suffered severe injuries. Thereafter, Schutz filed a negligence claim against defendant. The trial court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss Schutz’s claims based on ORS 471.565(1), which bars patrons who voluntarily consume alcohol from making claims against the licensed person(s) serving them alcohol. On appeal, Schutz argues: first, that she did not “voluntarily” consume alcohol; second, the cause of her accident was the defendant’s failure to protect her; and third, if ORS 471.565(1) does bar her claims, then she is being deprived of her constitutional rights to a remedy for injury and to a jury trial. The Court concluded: that Schutz’s consumption of alcohol was voluntary; ORS 471.565(1) bars all of Schutz’s negligence specifications; and if ORS 471.565(1) does not apply, Schutz’s constitutional rights would not be violated because Schutz would not be able to prove that her own actions did not contribute to her injuries. Affirmed.