State Law In
Missouri
What does state law say?
It is a violation of the law to knowingly allows a person under 21 to drink or possess alcohol or knowingly fail to stop a person under the age of twenty-one from drinking or possessing alcohol.
SETTINGS COVERED:
Any property.
What happens if an adult breaks the law?
Adults who are charged with a first offense face a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 and/or imprisonment not to exceed 6 months. Subsequent offense Class A misdemeanor are punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or imprisonment not to exceed one year.
Can adult do anything to rescind the violation?
Not addressed.
Can the adult be sued?
The State of Missouri has not enacted a law regarding civil penalties for social hosting. In the absence of a statute, courts have consistently found that the consumption of alcoholic beverages, rather than the furnishing, to be the proximate cause of injuries inflicted on a third person by an intoxicated person. In Coons v. Berry, et al. the Appeals Court did state that given a law penalizing social hosts who allow consumption of alcohol by minors was enacted after Coons filed, the court leaves to another day the determination whether a civil claim may be based on a violation of it.