House parties, minors, guests and alcohol. Now what if the 17 year old student attending a parochial high school posted flyers on school grounds advertising after end-of-school pool and bikini party at the student’s house.
Does the fact that school allowed him to post flyers on school property without objection of the principal, make the party a “school sanctioned event? Is the school now liable for “sponsoring” the event” at which the minor got drunk and was seriously injured?
Does it matter that the school principal went to the home to check out what was going on at the party? Did the school and its principal have the duty to supervise its students at the party? Well the lawyer for the parents of the injured boy convinced the lawyers for the principal’s insurance company that the principal and the school did have that duty and breached that duty.
THE ACCIDENT
Some 30 to 45 minutes after the principal and school employee left the home where the party was in progress, Gabriel and his friend got into Gabriel’s car and drove away. Several miles away from the party and from the school, the vehicle struck a tree (travelling in a residential area at a speed estimated by police to have been between 80 and 100 miles per hour) and split in half, killing the friend and catastrophically injuring Gabriel. Two hours after the accident, Gabriel had a blood alcohol level of .09%.3 He is now a quadriplegic, and he suffered traumatic brain injury as well.
TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS CARRY MAY HAVE PERSONAL INSURANCE OVERAGE TO PROTECT THEM FROM LAWSUITS
Most educators in Florida are privately insured by Horace Mann Insurance Company. This coverage will provide liability coverage and a defense of claims made by students and parents against the educator. The teacher and / or teacher can be exposed to negligence claims by parents for minor children and educators purchase this type of insurance coverage which can be easily overlooked.
In one Florida case., Horace Mann paid 1.1 million dollars to avoid a jury trial and settled with the parents before trial in one very tragic case. The case involved a 17-year-old student who consumed alcohol at a end of year party pool party and bikini contest and then left the party in a car and was involved in a car wreck.
His parents sued the school on the basis that the their son was injured while participating in a “school event.” The school went to trial and lost. A large verdict was entered against the school based on the evidence presented at trial.
The school appealed on the grounds that one the student left the school property the obligation to supervise ended. The school was ultimately right but the parents keep the 1.1. million secured by way of the settlement with the principal.
On the morning before the party, the school principal had the two students (brothers) at whose home the party was to take place brought into his office so he could question them. He testified that the students told him that that their parents would be at the party as chaperones.
The principal and school administrative staff also read a “skit” over the school public address system that morning of the party. The principal composed the script, entitled “Busting a Party!” He testified that the skit was a parody intended to let students know that the administration had become aware of the party and might put a damper on it.
When the school appealed to the verdict and judgment the Appellate Court framed the legal issues as follows:
1. Was the after-school event school sponsored or school related?
2. Did the principal’s visit to the front of the private residence during the party, or the school’s handbook regarding such parties, create a duty on the part of the school pursuant to the undertaker’s doctrine?
3. Did the trial court correctly interpret section 768.36, Florida Statutes (2001), “alcohol or drug defense,” as applied to the facts of this case?
4. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in sustaining an objection to the admissibility of records regarding the injured student’s (the driver’s) prior treatment for alcohol dependence, including an admission that a few months before the accident the eleventh-grade student had consumed 24 beers in 24 hours?
THE SCHOOL’S HANDBOOK
The handbook also contains a substance abuse policy applicable to alcoholic beverages proscribing the use or possession of such beverages “by any student on school property or while attending or participating in any school sponsored activity or at any time the student is wearing a school uniform.” The consequences of a violation were specified: “[t]ransgression of this rule will result in disciplinary action, which may include dismissal from school, even for a first offense.” Another section stated:
The use, possession, or sale of alcoholic beverages or drugs is prohibited at all times on school premises before, during or after school hours or at school-sponsored events. ANY STUDENT WHO APPEARS TO HAVE CONSUMED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, USED DRUGS, DISTRIBUTED DRUGS, OR ANY STUDENT WHO BRINGS SUCH SUBSTANCES ON THE SCHOOL PREMISES OR PLACE OF A SCHOOL SPONSORED FUNCTION IS SUBJECT TO DISMISSAL FROM SCHOOL, EVEN FOR A FIRST OFFENSE. The determination of “use” will by necessity be a judgmental decision by any staff or faculty member who may observe the behavior.
HIGH SCHOOL’S DUTY DID NOT EXTEND BEYOND THE SCHOOL GROUNDS
At some point, the law has to allow the school’s obligation of reasonable supervision to come to an end and the parent or guardian’s duty of supervision must resume. The concluded the duty and obligation ends when the student leaves the school’s premises during non-school hours and is no longer involved in school-related activities. Although it appears to be a harsh decision for the parents, it was the ruling of this Court in this case. Other cases may have a different outcome based upon the facts of each case.