State Supreme Court rules in minors drinking case

The ruling Wednesday has wide implications for parents of teenagers who host parties. Some say the opinion puts responsible parents at risk for behavior of teens they have no control over, while others say it’s a step toward getting adults to do the right thing concerning underage drinking.

It was the first time the state’s highest court has expressly stated that adults have a duty under Tennessee law to protect minors from harm if they allow them to drink on their premises, lawyers said.

“This case is important because it establishes that adults who let kids drink at a party they’re hosting on their property have a duty to exercise reasonable care for these children,” said Nashville attorney Phil Elbert, who represented the plaintiffs in the case leading to the ruling.

The court did not address the issue of adults hosting a party for other adults. But Elbert said he suspected the court would not hold that adults have the same responsibility when it comes to other adults.

The decision also doesn’t mean adults can be held liable in situations where minors are drinking without their knowledge, he said.

The case resulted from an alcohol-related accident that occurred in 1997 after two teenagers left a party at the Franklin home of Nashville music producer Paul Worley. Worley knew some minors would be drinking at the party and told his daughter, Ashley, that anyone consuming alcohol would have to spend the night.

The daughter invited her friends to attend, but others found out about the party and showed up. The party crashers included Dana Biscan, her twin sister, Jennifer, and Hughes Brown, 17.

Worley was the only adult to chaperone the party but made no attempt to enforce the rule that guests who consumed alcohol stay overnight, according to court documents.

Brown drank beer before and after the party. He and Jennifer Biscan left with Brown driving. He later didn’t see a stop sign and slammed into a guard rail.

Brown suffered a broken nose but Biscan’s injuries left her in a coma with bleeding and bruising of the brain. She spent months in therapy learning to walk and talk again.

Brown’s blood-alcohol content was well over the then-legal limit of .10 percent.

Jennifer Biscan and her father, Robert Biscan, sued Brown and Worley in Davidson County Circuit Court. A jury awarded them damages of nearly $4 million, saying Brown was 70 percent at fault, Worley 15 percent at fault and Biscan 15 percent.

Worley’s attorney said his client was trying to be responsible by asking his daughter’s guests who drank to stay overnight.

“He recognized the dangers of minors consuming alcohol and tried to install a safeguard to make sure that this did not happen,” Hollins said. “The ones who got injured were the people who crashed the party and weren’t aware of the rules that he placed.”

In an opinion written by Justice E. Riley Anderson, the court said that Worley knew it was possible that guests would get intoxicated and drive because he wanted the minors who drank to spend the night. The court also said that although teens showed up uninvited at the party, Worley was aware of that and permitted them to stay.

The plaintiff’s lawyer said he hoped the ruling would send a message.

“Every year across this country high school kids go to these parties and get hurt or killed,” Elbert said. “And it needs to be clear to the parents that it’s illegal, it’s not something that needs to be condoned or permitted.”

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Information from: The Tennessean, www.tennessean.com