Belle Tung v. The Bowery Presents LLC, AEG Presents NY, LLC d/b/a PlayStation Theater
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Case experience: Event & Stage Safety · Event Management · Event Security · Hospitality
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New York · Event venues and the Dram Shop Act
New York Hospitality & Event Safety Expert Witness
Retained by defense counsel on event safety and operations at a Manhattan concert venue. New York's Dram Shop Act reaches sales to visibly intoxicated persons — and runs to third parties only.
Applicable Law
General Obligations Law § 11-101 and ABC Law § 65
New York's Dram Shop Act is General Obligations Law § 11-101. A person injured by an intoxicated person has a right of action against anyone who caused or contributed to that intoxication by unlawfully selling alcohol.
What counts as an unlawful sale comes from Alcoholic Beverage Control Law § 65, which prohibits selling, delivering or giving alcohol to a person who is visibly intoxicated. The two provisions are read together.
New York's structure has a feature counsel should note: the claim runs to third parties only. The intoxicated patron cannot recover against the establishment that served them. At event and entertainment venues the dram shop question also sits alongside event operations — crowd density, staffing, ingress and egress, and security planning — which are separate operational failures with separate evidence.
Server training
New York operates the Alcohol Training Awareness Program (ATAP), a State Liquor Authority-certified server training scheme; participation is voluntary but carries evidentiary and licensing significance.
How counsel plead it
New York counsel plead the Dram Shop Act or GOL § 11-101 and argue an unlawful sale to a visibly intoxicated person under ABC § 65.
Statutes and regulatory schemes change. The citations above are starting points for counsel, verified at the time of writing against the state code and the regulator named — they are not legal advice, and Ryan does not offer opinions on the law itself.
Evidence
What Ryan Reviews in a New York Matter
The evidence set follows the legal standard. Where the statute turns on what was observable, the analysis runs on video, service records and staffing; where it turns on security or premises conditions, it runs on deployment, supervision and incident history.
- Service and POS records correlated to a timeline
- Surveillance video for visible indicators at the point of sale
- ATAP or equivalent server training records
- Event security and staffing plans where the injury arose at an event
- Crowd density, capacity and ingress/egress management
- Incident reports and the venue's response
Disclosed New York Experience
1 Disclosed Matter
Belle Tung v. The Bowery Presents LLC, AEG Presents NY, LLC d/b/a PlayStation Theater — retained by Aaronson Rappaport Feinstein & Deutsch, LLP for the defense on event safety and operations at a New York live entertainment venue.
Questions
New York — Common Questions from Counsel
Who can bring a dram shop claim in New York?
Third parties injured by the intoxicated person. Under GOL § 11-101 the intoxicated patron cannot recover against the establishment that served them.
What makes a sale 'unlawful' under New York law?
ABC Law § 65 prohibits selling, delivering or giving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, among others. GOL § 11-101 and ABC § 65 are read together in dram shop litigation.
What does an event safety expert evaluate at a New York concert venue?
Event and security staffing, crowd density and management, ingress and egress, the venue's own operating and emergency procedures, and how staff actually responded — operational questions, distinct from structural, rigging or electrical engineering.
Other Jurisdictions
States With Disclosed Experience
Ryan is available nationwide. These are the jurisdictions his CV documents.
New York Matter Under Review?
Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to all inquiries within one business day.