“Premises” Usually Does Not Include Parking Lots for Licensed Establishments Located in Shopping Centers in Maryland and Other States.
In June 2019, the Cecil County Liquor Board heard from a licensee in response to crowds in the parking lot at his establishment. See Cecil Whig Article.
The bar mentioned in the article is located in a shopping center with several other businesses. Although licensees may have the ability to control the inside of their establishments, those leasing space in a mall or similar setting may have little to no influence to exclude individual from the shared parking lots.
March 12, 2001, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion on point with the issue faced by the licensee in the Whig article. After reviewing applicable law, the Attorney General’s 2001 opinion concludes that generally when an establishment licensed to sell alcohol is in a mall setting and shares the parking area with other tenants, the parking lot is not part of the liquor licensee’s premises. If an incident occurs in such a parking lot that would otherwise be a violation in a stand-alone establishment’s lot, the licensee has a viable defense due to the fact that the licensee has no control over the parking lot.
It is noteworthy, however, that the 2001 Opinion contains a disclaimer in footnote one “You have not asked, and we do not address, the extent to which the Liquor board could take action against a licensee based on the off-premises conduct of the licensee or others.” It is likely that any licensing authority has jurisdiction to take action based upon a licensee’s conduct occurring off of the premises. See, e.g., 4 Del. Code 561(b). Generally, off premise licensee conduct is distinguishable from conduct of a licensee’s patrons occurring off of the licensed premises. See, e.g., Gabby’s Saloon and Eatery
In Delaware, parking lots are not generally considered part of the premises. In order to apply for a license, a sketch of the premises must be included. Within the regulation requiring such a drawing, there is no mention of parking areas. See Del. Administrative Code Title 4, Section 703. Furthermore, the Delaware regulations concerning the extension of the licensed premises to include patios and similar areas explicitly states that the term “premises” would not include a parking lot area. See Del. Administrative Code Title 4, Section 704, Subsection 2.0.
The issue of parking lot security can and should be addressed in a lease or other written document between the tenant/licensee and the landlord/owner of the strip mall or shopping center. Regardless, a licensee facing a violation hearing for conduct occurring in a parking lot should obtain counsel to advise on the best course of action.