The CAOC Supports the Teen Alcohol Safety Act of 2010

The Consumer Attorneys of California strongly support the Teen Alcohol Safety Act of 2010 which is AB 2486 authored by Mike Feuer. The attorneys at BISNAR | CHASE also believe strongly in this bill.

At the present time, there is complete immunity in the civil courts when someone provides alcohol to anyone including a minor. That inebriated person can then leave the home of the host and have an accident injuring someone else and possibly themselves, but the social host cannot be held responsible at all for damages in the civil court. In some states, “social hosts” are held liable for these incidents even if the drinking driver is an adult. In California, they cannot be held civilly liable at all.

This bill would change the law to create a civil liability for a “social host” who serves someone at his/her home and knows that the person they served is under the legal drinking age. The bill does not create a civil liability for a “social host” serving alcohol to adults.

The devastated family members of minors who have died from binge drinking, as well as a host of law enforcement and public safety groups, support this bill. They know that underage drinking is a widespread and increasingly dangerous problem that has potentially deadly consequences for minors and their families and friends. Their hope is also that holding adults responsible when they provide alcohol to someone they know to be a minor will reduce access to alcohol for minors.

In parsing out the provisions of this bill, it should be noted that while this bill will provide the potential liability of a “social host,” the injured parties must still prove the elements of negligence in a civil court. It is not taken for granted that because the host served the minor, he/she is automatically liable without some proof of negligence.

The CAOC feels the passage of this bill will do a great deal to protect citizens from drunk minors on the road and also will be part of a solution to the large problem of underage drinking that is presently not under control.

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