Estate of Templeton v. Daffern

We are asked to decide whether a social host who does not furnish alcohol to a minor, but who permits the minor to consume on the host’s premises alcohol obtained elsewhere, owes to the minor a common law duty of reasonable care. Answering no, we affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants.

In September 1994, Stan and Jean Daffern owned property improved with a house and nearby cabin. They lived in the house. Their son Dan and his roommate, Mike Vaardahl, lived in the cabin.1 The house and cabin are served by the same driveway.

Early in the evening of September 9, 1994,…