Understanding the Legal Implications of a Dinner Date
Life is simple when you’re alone. You choose a restaurant, pick your favorite dishes and drinks, enjoy them with someone you’ve known and trusted, and then pay the bill. In this scenario, the law is equally straightforward. There’s an implied contract between you and the restaurant, formed by your promise to pay for what you ordered at the menu price. If you fail to pay, the restaurant can take legal action under contract law, and the police may charge you with making off without payment under section 18C of the Theft Ordinance.
However, life becomes more complex when you introduce a new partner into the mix. A dinner date can be both exciting and confusing, especially when it comes to who pays the bill. This situation introduces a unique set of legal considerations that can leave you wondering about your rights and responsibilities.
The Joint and Several Obligation
When you go on a dinner date, both you and your date are considered customers of the restaurant. As such, each of you has made an implied promise to pay for the food and drinks you order. The restaurant, in this case, doesn’t care who pays as long as the bill is settled. There is a “joint and several” obligation between the two of you, meaning the restaurant can demand payment from either one of you.
If neither of you pays, both of you could be charged with making off without payment, treated as a “joint enterprise.” This means you would be considered partners in crime before becoming partners in life.
What Happens When One Person Flee the Scene?
Now, imagine you end up paying the entire bill while your date disappears. What legal options do you have? Is there a crime involved? If your date didn’t make off without payment, then there’s no crime of making off without payment, which would imply that you consider yourself selling “goods” or “services” under section 18C of the Theft Ordinance.
What about obtaining property by deception under section 17 of the same law? It depends on whether the person who fled lied to you about their ability to pay or some part of the bill. If the deception relates to lying about their job, profession, or wealth, you would have to be induced by this lie to pay willingly for the dinner for it to be considered obtaining property by deception in law.
In life, this might be seen as a simpler crime—vanity. But legally, the situation is more nuanced.
Civil Claims and Contribution
Even if there’s no criminal charge, there may still be a civil claim. Although there was likely no explicit contract discussing who would pay, there’s a legal concept called contribution for someone jointly and severally liable with others and has paid for such others. In the context of a dinner date, this means the person who paid the entire bill can sue the person who fled for their share.
Courts typically start with the default rule that each person is equally liable, but they may adjust the sharing proportions if appropriate, such as if one person drank the entire bottle of wine, which should be solely their responsibility.
Conclusion
Dinner dates can be a delightful experience, but they also come with legal complexities. Understanding your rights and obligations can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure that you’re not left footing the bill alone. Whether you’re navigating the legal system or simply trying to figure out who pays, knowing the law can provide clarity and peace of mind.
Martin Wong, the current deputy honorary secretary of the Hong Kong Bar Association and a civil litigator, highlights these legal nuances in his weekly column, “Legal Tales,” offering insights on current affairs from senior members of the Hong Kong Bar Association.
