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New Hampshire · Comprehensive statutory liability chapter

New Hampshire Liquor Liability & Hospitality Expert Witness

Ryan Dahlstrom accepts hospitality and entertainment expert-witness engagements in New Hampshire. 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 New Hampshire. 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 New Hampshire 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. The governing framework in New Hampshire is N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 507-F. His opinions address operational standards — staffing, training, supervision, policy and procedure — and do not extend to engineering, toxicology or medical causation.

New Hampshire Law

Comprehensive statutory liability chapter

New Hampshire's liquor liability scheme is set out in RSA chapter 507-F. It applies to any person licensed or required to be licensed under the state liquor law, and to their employees.

The chapter is a comprehensive statutory framework rather than a single liability section — it addresses the standards of conduct that give rise to liability, defences available to a licensee, and the procedural requirements a claimant must meet. Counsel practising outside New Hampshire should read the chapter as a whole rather than isolating a single provision.

Because the scheme is statutory and self-contained, a licensee's compliance posture — training, written policy, supervision and documentation — is measured against the chapter's own standards rather than against a general negligence yardstick.

Governing provision
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 507-F
Standard
Statutory scheme governing liability of licensees and their employees for service of alcohol.
Server training
The New Hampshire Liquor Commission administers licensee education and enforcement, including server training expectations.

Statutes and regulatory schemes change, and this is not legal advice. Citations were verified against the state code or controlling decision and the named regulator at the time of writing; counsel should confirm the provision current to the date of loss. Ryan offers opinions on operational standards, not on the law itself.

Hospitality Context

New Hampshire Venues and Operations

New Hampshire's licensed trade includes Manchester and Portsmouth restaurant and bar districts, Hampton Beach seasonal operations, White Mountains ski-resort food and beverage, and a large motorcycle-rally and event trade around Laconia.

Evidence

What Ryan Reviews in a New Hampshire Matter

  • 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 New Hampshire

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

New Hampshire Engagements

Available for New Hampshire engagements

Ryan Dahlstrom accepts expert-witness engagements in New Hampshire and in all 50 states. His CV documents engagements in nine jurisdictions — Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Illinois, Utah, Washington, California, New York and Kentucky. Where a state is not among those, it means no engagement there is publicly disclosed in the CV; it does not limit availability, and the operational standards at issue in hospitality and entertainment litigation do not change at a state line. What changes is the cause of action available and the evidence that proves it.

See the full disclosed case record →

Questions

New Hampshire — Common Questions from Counsel

Where is New Hampshire's liquor liability law found?
RSA chapter 507-F, which governs the liability of persons licensed or required to be licensed under the state liquor law, and their employees.
Is it a negligence claim or a statutory one?
The chapter provides a self-contained statutory framework covering standards of conduct, defences and procedure, so compliance is measured against the chapter rather than a general negligence standard.
What is distinctive about New Hampshire event and rally hospitality?
Large rally and festival events place ordinary licensed premises under extraordinary volume for short periods, which raises questions about temporary staffing, capacity management, security deployment and whether the operator's planning matched the anticipated crowd.

New Hampshire Matter Under Review?

Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to all inquiries within one business day.