PARENTAL LIABILITY FOR ALLOWING MINORS TO DRINK AT HOUSE PARTY.
You are hosting a graduation party. Is it okay to let those graduating seniors have just a beer or two in order to celebrate? The short answer is: No…and you knew that already. The California legislature got serious about it a few years back. While the general rule is that no social host who furnishes alcohol may be held legally accountable for injuries to third persons resulting from the consumption of those beverages, California Civil Code 1714(d) carves out an exception, and provides that claims may be brought against: any parent, guardian, or adult “who knowingly furnishes alcoholic beverages at their residence to a person whom they know, or should have known, to be under 21 years of age”. The law, commonly known as "social host liability law," applies to adults who knowingly furnish alcohol to minors in their home. The adults involved can be civilly liable where the alcohol they provided is determined to be the proximate cause of the personal injury or death. DONT DO IT.
Furnishing alcohol to minors who are going to drive away from your house puts the
entire community at risk. A person driving under the influence of alcohol puts himself in danger, andjeopardizes the safety of others. As above, California law had previously provided a general
immunity to those furnishing alcohol, with limited exceptions. The above law changes that, and will allow victims of drunk driving to seek compensation under these circumstances. It is a much-needed additional step in the efforts to prevent teen drinking tragedies in California. We hope it will give parents an additional reason to say no to underage drinking that they may have allowed previously.