Quote:
Originally posted by shadokat
The whole reason that national and international fraternities and sororities have risk management policies is to remove the risk of liability from the chapter/fraternity/sorority. That being said, the use of third party vendors is allowed for the reason that when you use a third party vendor, the liability lies with the vendor. For instance, you go to a bar and get served underage. That isn't the sorority or fraternity's fault...it's the vendors fault.
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Please see KappaKittyCat's remarks above, distinguishing criminal liability from civil liability. She makes some very good points. While the nuances vary from state to state, criminal "fault" and civil "fault" are always treated differently. You seem to be talking about criminal responsibility. However, civil responsibility is spread much more broadly than criminal responsibility. The bartender in your sample case will be charged with serving a minor. But that will not necessarily keep the GLO from getting sued for negligence, and it's more likely than not that if the GLO and its members negligently or knowingly participated in getting people (especially minors) drunk and letting them get into dangerous situations, they'll lose. The details will depend on the specialized negligence doctrine of the state and the particular facts of the case.
I'll put it differently. Just because the GLO
didn't break a law does
not mean it can't be
sued for negligence and lose.