If adults give alcohol to minors, are those adults legally and civilly responsible for whatever damages might occur? Should those adults be sued if, say, a drunken 16 year old plows across your lawn at 3 a.m. and ends up inside your living room? Whose insurance should pay for the damages? He’s under 18.
Or what if a 15 year old gets drunk and starts hitting people, causing injuries. Can they sue him to pay their medical bills and time off of work?
It’s not an easy question.
Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown and Rep. Mike Barbieri, D-Newark have co-sponsored a bipartisan effort with House Bill 70 which would create stricter penalties for those who provide alcohol to people under 21 years of age. The aim is to address people who knowingly and willingly give alcohol to minors in their homes. The current fine is $100, but this bill would raise it to $250 and also include mandatory community service time for those convicted. Furthermore, if anyone is injured by the drunken minor, he will be able to sue the adults who provided the alcoholic beverages.
Now, some of the restaurants and bars have been concerned, because they say that it’s not really fair if someone hops from place to place all evening and then becomes drunk and does damage, and only the last establishment is held responsible. It also doesn’t seem fair to them that they could be held accountable if the young person had fairly good fake identification.
“In the past it was called the dram shop liability, but if people read the bill, it states the exclusion that this shall not be interpreted as imposing dram shop liability on any person or entity,” King said. “If the minor presents a fake identification, the restaurant or business establishment has a defense to liability.”
It is a matter that will have to be looked at carefully as the wording of the bill is studied. The point of the bill is to stop parents and other adults from providing liquor illegally to young folks in their homes. It’s rare that teens try to get it in restaurants, since most staff and all owners are trained to be quite aware of the possibility.
It’s against the law, folks, whether you think it should be or not, and you are not doing your teens any good by helping them to break it.
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