Parental Liability during teenagers house party?

shanekingsley

shanekingsley

Curry - so nice it burns you twice
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Just wondering something here.

A friends son is turning 16 today. Her son is going to have a house party tonight in the west Toronto area and it seems about 50 of his closest friends are going to show. She thought it was going to be only about 10 friends but this morning found out there was going to be much more coming.

She was planning to be out of the house for the party as he is a very responsible kid, but is very concerned about the new developments of so many more kids coming. I'm sure that these kids will be bringing booze. What happens if something goes wrong at the party and a kid leaves drunk and hurts themselves or get hurt inside the house while she is not there etc...
What if she stays home and something goes wrong?

I am wondering about legal consequences here related to negligence or liability, not moral viewpoints.
 
She is potential liable for any harm that befalls any person on the property, invited or otherwise. An injured party or any person who is adversely affected by an injury to someone attending on her property can launch a law suit against her for loss of income, loss of companionship, costs incurred to treat or live with temporary and even life-long disabilities, and possible punitive damages on top of that.

It would then be up to her to demonstrate that she had taken reasonable precautions to avert any possible harm to those on her property, that she was not negligent in correcting potential hazards.

If her plan was to be out of the house leaving her kid to have the party, she could be considered especially negligent. Her son is still a minor under Ontario law and there is a legal obligation for the parents to provide adequate supervision of their children. Absenting herself from the house during a party that is likely to grow quite large could easily be seen as overt negligence on the mother's part.

https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/scc/recoveringlosses.pdf
http://jfcy1.blogspot.ca/2012/11/house-party-gone-wrong.html
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dai...2-000-legally-responsible-kids-201624512.html
 
Thanks - this is what I was looking for - a legal framework for what is required. She is very stressed out about how this has morphed into something it was not supposed to be. We were going to go out for a late dinner together, but under the circumstances we feel very against the idea.
 
I know I did lots of stupid things as a kid and luck was on my side too many times for me to not have learned from those events. This is a really good kid with a very bright future - not to mention all the other kids that will be there.
 
The number of people can rapidly get out of hand (facebook, et al). Sometimes fights start when uninvited people show up and are asked to leave - hard for a 16 yr old to manage that.
 
House party for 16yr olds? Really bad idea. Homeowners are taking a huge risk of liability and property damage. I would HIGHLY suggest it get cancelled.
 
FLSTC said:
The number of people can rapidly get out of hand (facebook, et al). Sometimes fights start when uninvited people show up and are asked to leave - hard for a 16 yr old to manage that.
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This is one of my many positions on the matter. We're going out for an early dinner instead. Not sure yet if the party will go on with her in the house - when parents are around, the party tends to move out of the house or end earlier:)
I have been to too many house parties as a kid that got way out of hand when uninvited people showed up or things just get out of control with alcohol and mob mentality etc... I've also thrown and been to some amazing house parties though:)

but today with social media...
 
Easy fix - she stays present, maybe even talks a good friend like you into being there as well. Maybe she wears earplugs and reads a book, whatever. Bonus will be that being present will also cut the party attendance in half.

50x 16 year-olds definitely exceeds critical mass. You can almost guarantee a piece of furniture gets broken and/or a flower pot gets filled with vomit
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Easy fix - she stays present, maybe even talks a good friend like you into being there as well. Maybe she wears earplugs and reads a book, whatever. Bonus will be that being present will also cut the party attendance in half.

50x 16 year-olds definitely exceeds critical mass. You can almost guarantee a piece of furniture gets broken and/or a flower pot gets filled with vomit
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Had 300 at my first house party and close to 600 the next week at the second one when I was 16... Lots of barf but very little broken.
 
We used to party a lot in highschool..i mean every weeknd at a different house. Used to hear from a friend of a friend type of deal and just show up. Sometimes more than 100-150 people. Usually, if its too loud, cops show up, go through the house, kick everyone out and go on with their business. I have never in 3 years of heavy partying in highschool heard of anyone having any legal trouble whatsoever. The worst thing that can happen is people breaking/stealing ****.

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shanekingsley said:
I know I did lots of stupid things as a kid and luck was on my side too many times for me to not have learned from those events. This is a really good kid with a very bright future - not to mention all the other kids that will be there.
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Sorry but I disagree on the bright part unless the 50 attendees are Amish, maybe. If he can pull it off I'll vote for him to be our next PM.
 
nobbie48 said:
If he can pull it off I'll vote for him to be our next PM.
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Well at least I know he can count on our vote. It was all good - the kid is a champ and so are his friends. We went out for dinner and stopped in unannounced a few times and all was good. By the time we got back there for the night, he and his friends had the house all cleaned up and were just sitting around chilling in the gazebo outside. Nothing got broken and his friends were all really responsible.

Times have changed - we would have had 5 kegs going with DJ's and a boomin system.
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