Detroit, MI asked in Products Liability and Civil Litigation for Michigan

Q: What are the steps that can be taken if a minor is sold liquor from a store and damages a vehicle?

They asked for no id and the minor crashed their parents car n damaged it. They also refused to give the parents the owners information

1 Lawyer Answer

A: I'm unsure two wrongs make a right here for you as the parents. The store is wrong for selling liquor without carding (assuming they did not in fact card the minor; how would you know that to be a fact?). The minor is also wrong for making the purchase.

More to the point, I think you may be looking to some sort of dram shop liability on the store, which is unsupported by the facts you present. Had this store been a bar, for example, where people purchase and consume alcohol on site, and then this minor crashed the car, then perhaps the bar in this case may have some liability extending to the damage. But a general store that simply sells liquor to be consumed elsewhere....not sure the law would make them liable for this damage.

You could report this to your auto insurance company, but they'll probably same the same, and may even deny coverage outright because the minor purchasing alcohol is an intervening criminal act, not any different than when a drunk driver crashes a car.

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