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Lyons v. Nasby3/20/1989
rongful conduct is a substantial factor in bringing about the plaintiff's injury. Ekberg v. Greene, 196 Colo. 494, 588 P.2d 375 (1978). Whether proximate cause exists is a question for the jury and only in the clearest of cases, where reasonable minds can draw but one inference from the evidence, does the question become one of law to be determined by the court. Samuelson v. Chutich, 187 Colo. 155, 529 P.2d 631 (1974). In Largo Corp. v. Crespin, 727 P.2d 1098, we rejected the traditional common-law rule which held that there was no causal relation between the sale of alcohol and injury to a third party. We reasoned that " urnishing an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person is a proximate cause 'because the consumption, resulting intoxication, and the injury-producing conduct are foreseeable intervening causes, or at least the injury-producing conduct is one of the hazards which makes such furnishing negligent.'" Id. at 1103. (quoting from Vesely v. Sager, 5 Cal. 3d 153, 164, 486 P.2d 151, 159, 95 Cal. Rptr. 623, 631 (1971)). The rationale for rejecting the traditional rule of no proximate cause is even stronger here than it was in Crespin. In Crespin there were three persons, the liquor dispenser, the patron, and the injured third party in the causal chain which lead to the injury. In the present case there are only two: the tavern owner and the injured patron. Since there are only two parties here, the superseding cause problem present in Crespin is not present here.
While the chain of causation in some cases may be so attenuated that no proximate cause exists as a matter of law, such is not the case here. The complaint before us alleges that on August 13, 1983, agents or employees of the respondent served alcoholic beverages to the decedent even though he was visibly drunk at the time. The petitioner asserts that due to this misconduct, the decedent, while attempting to drive home, drove off a mountain road and suffered fatal injuries. Under these allegations, we believe that a jury could reasonably find that the respondent's behavior would likely result in the decedent incurring severe injury and that the behavior was a substantial factor in causing the injuries suffered. For the same reason that a tavern owner owes a duty not to serve intoxicated patrons, we cannot say as a matter of law that an experienced vendor of alcohol such as the respondent could not foresee that his conduct would result in the decedent incurring injury. Crespin, 727 P.2d at 1103. In our view, a tavern owner's act of serving an intoxicated patron alcohol may well be a proximate cause of any injuries the patron subsequently incurs. Accordingly, the issue of proximate cause in this case should not be determined as a matter of law, but should be submitted to the jury for its determination. See Samuelson, 187 Colo. 155, 529 P.2d 631.
We conclude that the respondent had a duty to the decedent, and that a jury could find that the respondent's breach of that duty was a proximate cause of the decedent's injuries. As such, the petitioner has stated a claim for common-law negligence which is sufficient to withstand respondent's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
B.
NEGLIGENCE PER SE
In Colorado the violation of an ordinance adopted for the public's safety may be negligence per se if it is established that the violation proximately caused the injury. See Lambotte v. Payton, 147 Colo. 207, 363 P.2d 167 (1961); Hertz Driv-Ur-Self System, Inc. v. Hendrickson,
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