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Vendor Liability For The Sale Of Alcohol To An Underage Person: The Untoward Consequences Of Estate Of Mullis V. Monroe Oil Co., Angela M. Easley

Campbell Law Review

This article contends that Defendants clearly had a duty to the people who travel on public highways not to serve alcohol to an underage individual. Therefore, N.C. GEN. STAT. section 18B-302, which prohibits the sale of alcohol to underage persons, should be regarded as a public safety statue, violation of which constitutes negligence per se. It further argues that Defendants should have recognized that Mullis and others might be injured by their conduct. The supreme court merely misinterpreted the element of duty required to maintain a common law negligence action and failed to look at the evidence and circumstances surrounding …