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Maryland · No dram shop liability — Warr v. JMGM Group
Maryland Hospitality, Premises Liability & Security Expert Witness
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts hospitality and entertainment expert-witness engagements in Maryland. 35+ years of hands-on experience in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, live entertainment venues and special events — retained by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants.
In short
Ryan Dahlstrom is a hospitality and entertainment industry expert witness who accepts engagements in Maryland. He has more than 35 years of hands-on experience in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, live entertainment venues and special events, and is retained by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants. In Maryland matters he evaluates hospitality and venue operations, alcohol service and overservice, bar and nightclub operations, restaurant operations and management, security operations and negligent security, premises liability, event management, event security, event and stage safety, and surveillance video analysis. His opinions address operational standards — alcohol-service practices, staffing, training, supervision, policy and procedure, security, crowd management and incident response — measured against hospitality industry standards. He does not offer opinions on the law, engineering, toxicology or medical causation.
Alcohol Service
Dram Shop and Liquor Liability in Maryland
No dram shop liability — Warr v. JMGM Group
Maryland does not recognize dram shop liability. The position was reaffirmed in Warr v. JMGM Group, LLC (2013), in which the Court of Appeals (now the Supreme Court of Maryland) declined to create a cause of action against a tavern that had over-served a driver who then killed a child — holding that such a change must come from the legislature.
Counsel should expect an overservice theory against a Maryland licensee to fail. The absence of a dram shop claim does not, however, remove the operator's exposure for how the premises and its security were run.
Maryland matters proceed on premises liability and negligent security: security staffing and deployment, supervision and training of door staff, use of force during ejections, failure to intervene in a developing altercation, crowd and capacity management, and foreseeability drawn from the venue's own incident history.
This summary is general information for counsel, not legal advice. Statutes, regulations and case law change; counsel should confirm the law in effect on the date of loss. Ryan Dahlstrom's opinions address operational practices measured against hospitality industry standards; he does not offer opinions on the law.
Hospitality Context
Maryland Venues and Operations
Maryland's licensed trade includes Baltimore's Fells Point and Federal Hill bar districts, the Inner Harbor hospitality and event sector, Ocean City's seasonal beach-resort operation, and casino properties at Arundel Mills and National Harbor.
Evidence
What Ryan Reviews in Maryland Matters
- Service and POS records correlated into an operational timeline.
- Surveillance video across the service period, reviewed for observable indicators and reconciled against records and testimony.
- Training and certification records for the staff actually on shift, measured against the state's server-training scheme.
- Written policy and procedure — and whether practice matched the document.
- Staffing, supervision and deployment at the relevant time, including security posts and ratios against actual occupancy.
- Incident reports and prior-incident history bearing on foreseeability.
Scope
Areas Ryan May Be Retained On in Maryland
Where relevant to the matter. Ryan is retained by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants; opinions follow the facts and the applicable standard of care, not the retaining party.
Hospitality
- Hospitality operations
- Hospitality management
- Venue operations
- Hotel operations
- Management practices
- Policies and procedures
- Employee training
- Operational standards
Alcohol service
- Dram shop
- Liquor liability
- Alcohol service
- Alcohol overservice
- Responsible beverage service
- Alcohol service to minors
Bar, nightclub & restaurant
- Bar operations
- Bar management
- Nightclub operations
- Nightclub management
- Restaurant operations
- Restaurant management
- Beverage operations
Security
- Security operations
- Bar security
- Nightclub security
- Event security
- Negligent security
- Crowd management
- Crowd control
Premises & events
- Premises liability
- Event management
- Event operations
- Event safety
- Event & stage safety
- Special event management
Analysis
- Surveillance video analysis
- Surveillance video compilation
- Incident timeline analysis
- Standard of care review
Availability
Maryland Engagements
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts expert-witness engagements in Maryland and throughout the United States, and has been retained in matters by plaintiff and defense counsel nationwide. The hospitality industry standards that govern alcohol service, staffing, training and security apply wherever a venue operates; what differs from state to state is the governing law and what must be proven.
His case experience includes matters in Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Illinois, Utah, Washington, California, New York, Kentucky and other jurisdictions, involving dram shop and liquor liability, security, premises liability, hospitality operations, event safety, restaurant management and bar operations.
Questions
Maryland — Common Questions from Counsel
Does Maryland allow dram shop claims?
What claims remain available against a Maryland bar?
Why does county-level licensing matter in Maryland?
Maryland Matter Under Review?
Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to case inquiries within one business day.