evilwise
Former Member
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- Jan 1, 2020
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Well I decided to go ahead and look up the legal liability of the party hosts and liquor store clerk. It's kind of complicated because there is no explicit law regarding it but the South Carolina Supreme Court did establish a legal precedent regarding civil liability in 2008.
SC Judicial Department
What it works out to is that in a case where a third party is injured by an underage adult, a social host is 20% liable for damages if they knowingly served such a person. It seems that the court affirms a social host has no obligation to stop an intoxicated person from driving. The clerk who sold the alcohol could bear both criminal and civil responsibility if he was aware he was selling to someone underage which is probably why the use of Buster's ID was established (it was probably scanned and electronically associated with the purchase).
Now its quite possible that all the details we know about these specifics were orchestrated from the beginning by people who were well aware of the letter of the law but the facts as we know them seem to absolve anyone but the boat operator of any technical liability.
SC Judicial Department
What it works out to is that in a case where a third party is injured by an underage adult, a social host is 20% liable for damages if they knowingly served such a person. It seems that the court affirms a social host has no obligation to stop an intoxicated person from driving. The clerk who sold the alcohol could bear both criminal and civil responsibility if he was aware he was selling to someone underage which is probably why the use of Buster's ID was established (it was probably scanned and electronically associated with the purchase).
Now its quite possible that all the details we know about these specifics were orchestrated from the beginning by people who were well aware of the letter of the law but the facts as we know them seem to absolve anyone but the boat operator of any technical liability.