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Wyoming · Immunity for lawful service
Wyoming Hospitality, Bar Operations & Security Expert Witness
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts hospitality and entertainment expert-witness engagements in Wyoming. 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 Wyoming. 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming
Immunity for lawful service
Wyo. Stat. § 12-8-301 limits civil liability for alcohol providers where the alcohol was served lawfully. A licensee is generally not liable for damages caused by an intoxicated person where the service complied with the law.
The limitation on that protection is the operative point: it does not shelter a provider who served a patron who was clearly or visibly intoxicated, since that service is not lawful service. Wyoming therefore protects lawful service but not unlawful service, such as service to a clearly intoxicated person or to a person under 21.
Because the statute keys to lawfulness of the service, the analysis runs through the venue's compliance posture — who was serving, what they were trained to recognize, what the house policy required, and what the service records and video show about the patron's condition at the point of sale.
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
Wyoming Venues and Operations
Wyoming's licensed trade includes Jackson Hole's resort and après-ski food and beverage, Cheyenne's bar district and the very large annual Cheyenne Frontier Days event, Casper and Gillette energy-sector taverns, and gateway operations serving Yellowstone and Grand Teton visitors.
Evidence
What Ryan Reviews in Wyoming 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 Wyoming
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
Wyoming Engagements
Ryan Dahlstrom accepts expert-witness engagements in Wyoming 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
Wyoming — Common Questions from Counsel
Does Wyoming protect bars from liability?
What is the practical question in a Wyoming case?
What is distinctive about Jackson Hole resort venues?
Wyoming Matter Under Review?
Submit a case inquiry for a confidential conflicts check and evaluation. Ryan responds to case inquiries within one business day.