Hansen v. Friend

Fifteen-year-old Keith Hansen drowned in an alcohol-related incident. The petitioner, Hansen's mother, seeks review of the Court of Appeals opinion affirming the trial court's summary judgment dismissal of her wrongful death suit. In her suit, she alleges the respondents, two adult social hosts, negligently furnished liquor to her minor son, causing his intoxication and death. The Court of Appeals held that social hosts could not be held liable as a matter of law. We reverse the Court of Appeals and remand the case to the trial court.

On April 24, 1987, 15-year-old Keith Hansen and 21-year-old…