Underage drinking and the consequences!

[cazamic]

Hi everyone I have a dilema I am hoping you can advice on....

My son has been repremanded for kicking a car in anger. He had just had an argument over a girl and came out of a club and punched a wall and then a car, he was drunk. The owner of the car was the bouncer in the club and called the police and he spent the night in the cells. The next day he got asaulted on the way to college over the same issue.

The bouncer now wants his car repaired obviously and because my son is only 16 and a minor the bill has come to me. He is threatening to sue me for it if i don't pay up. The police gave me the impression that because as he let my son in the club in the first place and shouldn't have, he wouldn't have much hope. If he hadn't been allowed in the club the argument wouldnt have happened which led to the car incident and he wouldn't have been asaulted the next day. My son choose not to press charges on the assault but I am wondering if I could sue the club? Or should I just pay up?

Cheers for any advice.

Cazamic.

[JustOneUK]

Pay.

It's a shame they don't also fine your son.

Underage drinking AND vandalism... terrible. I don't know how you could possibly consider disputing it.

Make your son pay you back the money and don't let him out of the house after dark until he's 18 and ALLOWED to drink.

[Peter Bowen]

If the bouncer weighs 300 pounds, has a shaven head and a black goatee pay or he might break your son.

[Pineway]

Hi

I understand that your Son should not have been allowed in the club, due to being underage. Unfortunately this would not stand up in court as a defence to the charge of criminal damage to the car.


However, you could plead with the car owner that due to your son being assaulted as result of criminal damage to his car that you will be reporting this to the Police.

However should he wish to drop any charges / fines / bills for the repair of the car then you will not follow up on assault charges.

I would send a written letter with a 7 day reply clause to the car owner stating the above and should he not reply then you will assume he will be charging you for the repair of the car and that you will be reporting the incident to the Police.

Don't let threats cloud your judgement and try your best to protect your self from forking the repair bill.

I would like the comment that the Police have been very lenient with your son
As you don’t have to be 18 to answer for charges against criminal damage.

Regards

Dave

[cazamic]

Thanks for all your advice.

I am intending on paying as the bouncer was way too threatening and the asault was very brutal. My son is too scared to press chargesand I don't blame him. It will come out of my sons money as he has plenty.

The police were lenient as he has never done anything wrong in the past. Infact it's only since girls and drink came on the scene that I even noticed a change in his attitude.

Incidently I think alcohol should be illegal as it is the worst mind altering drug and our stupid government allows it to be legal! If it was invented in this century do you think it would be legal? No of course not. If they say you can do this drug and that drug but you can't do this drug and that drug what message is that sending people today. They should all be legal or illegal.

Stupid country.

[tkessex]

Spare us the 'say no to alcohol' nonsense please, it's been far too long a day and reading such drivel is more than irritating. But, you will notice, I don't suddenly feel the need to go and punch a wall, or in fact a car.

Your son is 16, clearly immature and/or hot-headed and already drinking to the extent that he will quite happily risk breaking his hand twice by striking a wall and a parked car. I would suggest you focus your efforts on sorting him out, rather than claiming that alcohol is the sole proponent. There are far too many kids - and that's all they are - who follow this sort of path, and the story rarely has a happy ending.

As far as your situation goes, the bouncer has every right to ask you to pay for the damage to his car and you in turn have every right to press charges against him for assault. However, in my experience, bouncers aren't in the habit of going after someone so long after such an event, especially when a 16 year old's punch is hardly likely to have caused much damage to a car. Perhaps it would be worth your while speaking to the bouncer in question, or contacting his employers to see if they can throw any more light on the situation.

[JustOneUK]

Originally Posted by cazamic

Incidently I think alcohol should be illegal as it is the worst mind altering drug and our stupid government allows it to be legal!

I would prefer to see alcohol banned too but you can't blame it on the alcohol necessarily - there is no excuse for drinking excessively to the point of violence/vandalism.

I love it when you see ads on the TV for half price drinks or wine on special offer... don't remember that for ciggies but then again the new relaxed gambling laws are hardly a step in the right direction - what was wrong with the bookies?.. especially now they are non-smoking

[fisicx]

It will come out of my sons money as he has plenty.

Where has all that money come from? When was the last time you went out as a family, sat round the table for a meal, watch a TV show together? Does your son have a TV, DVD, computer games console in his room?

Don't blame the alcohol. As his parent you have responsibility for his actions. I'm sorry he got assaulted but you should bear some of the responsibility for how he is.

Were you aware of where he was that night? If so then why didn't you do something about it. If not then does that not worry you?

Pay the man, get your son some counseling and take responsibility for his actions.

[Jack Hackett]

Apart from the drink/club/criminal damage issues. why would you let your 16 year-old son stay out that late at night in the first place? It's obvious he shouldn't have been in a club let alone drinking, but at 16 he should be at home well before midnight - don't you worry about what could happen to him?

[DLS Group]

Lets forget about the morals behind the situation and get back to the law.

First, the damage to the motor vehicle. You son has been arrested and has received a reprimand from the Police. This is the new version of the Police Caution. This now means that your son will be recorded on the Police National Computer and that the Criminal Aspect of the act has been dealt with.

The complainant in this matter has every right to ask you to pay for the damage caused to the car by your son, however, if you refuse he will need to take action via the civil courts in order to claim the money. In the brief circumstances that you have outlined, i feel that the complainant would succeed if he went via the civil court. Costs may also be applied and this would therefore cost you more.

Secondly, the assault. This is a criminal matter and can be dealt with by the Police. You can also opt to take civil action although you will need to employ a solicitor for the latter option. If you chose to report the matter to the police, then a statement will need to be taken. The offender may be arrested or asked to attend as a volunteer where they will give their account. After this the evidence will be presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who will decide if the matter proceeds to court. The CPS will apply two tests. 1) the evidential test will examine if there is a realistic prospect of conviction and 2) the public interest test. This is only conducted after a case passes the first test and examines if the case is in the public interest to proceed with. The CPS will only start or continue a prosecution if a case has passed both tests.

If you would like me to clarify anything, please come back via the forum.

Richard Jones
Dragon Legal Services
PO Box 259
Bridgend
CF31 9FW

Tel 08454 300 290