See and Hear No Evil - Still Liable
An Illinois woman's homeowners insurance will pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a young man who was paralyzed in a crash that occurred after an underage drinking party in her home. The settlement between the mother, whose teenage daughters hosted the party, and George Baldwin, 22, was approved Wednesday by the Lake County Circuit Court.
In 2006, Baldwin, then a 19-year-old, went to the Lake Forest home with a friend, William Klairmont, then 18 and also from Lake Forest. They were visiting the daughters, and all drank beer in the girls' bedroom. Klairmont was intoxicated when he drove home and lost control of his car, and Baldwin, a passenger, was injured.
The case is an unusual twist on adult liability for injuries that result from teenage drinking. Unlike other lawsuits alleging that adults played a role in teenage drinking parties, the mother did not buy the alcohol for the teens or know they were drinking in her home. The mother did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. But Baldwin's lawyer argued that the mother should have monitored the teens and suspected that they were drinking, especially because her daughters had been caught drinking before.
Colorado has a "Dram-Shop Law". A social host in Colorado can be legally liable to any injured individual for serving an alcoholic beverage to an underage person or for providing a place for an underage person to consume alcoholic beverages. A claim premised on "failure to monitor" has yet to be tested in Colorado.