<P> The laws are intended to protect the general public from the hazards of serving alcohol to minors and intoxicated patrons . Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have advocated for the enforcement and enactment of dram shop laws across the United States as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia . The earliest dram shop laws date from the 19th century temperance movement . </P> <P> Serving alcohol to minors is illegal in all 50 states . Many states impose liability on bars for serving minors who subsequently injure themselves or others, to deter bars from serving alcohol to minors . Thus in states like Texas and New Jersey, minors can sue a drinking establishment for their own injuries sustained while intoxicated . In Texas, this also applies to a minor served alcohol at a residential property . In other states, dram shop liability only extends to serving the "habitually intoxicated ." </P> <P> The majority of states allow for recovery when the defendant knew (or should have known) the customer was intoxicated . Some states have attempted to address this problem through more exacting tests . Many states impose liability on social hosts as well as commercial establishments . This related area of the law is known as social host liability . </P> <P> Different states' dram shop acts also differ as to whether a person who becomes intoxicated and injures themselves has a cause of action against the establishment that served them . Some states, such as New Jersey, will allow such a cause of action but will instruct the jury to take the intoxicated person's own negligence into account . Other states, such as New York, will not allow a person who injures themselves to bring a lawsuit against the bar that served them, but if that person dies will allow such a person's children to sue the drinking establishment for loss of parental consortium . </P>

What kind of liability are dram shop laws