Cohousing-L Mailing List: Alcohol

[Mary English (Mary.English]

The question was how do other communities deal with alcohol.

At Wasatch most of the meals or parties have been BYOB, usually beer or
wine.  Some folks occasional bring alcohol  to meals and put it on the
beverage counter to share .  There is no place to store it in the common
house that can be locked, and at times the open bottles are just left in
the fridge.  No problem so far with that, except that after a wedding
reception numerous bottles of unopened champagne disappeared over night,
to the dismay of the owner.

When a community member suggested that alcohol be purchased with
community funds for an event, I had a very strong objection.  My concern
was that if there were to be any unfortunate incidents after an event or
dinner, like a guest driving home and an accident occurs, the cohousing
group could be sued as the buyer and server of the alcohol.  When it is
BYOB and shared, the liability wouldn't fall on the entire cohousing
community.

State laws vary so check locally as to what your liability may be.

Another question may arise about alcohol at meetings.  I can recall one
member, no longer here, who was never without his drink at any meeting. 
It was frustrating to listen to the disjointed rambling.