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Social host liability is created by a statute or case law that imposes liability on social hosts as a result of their serving alcohol to adults or minors. A social host is most often a private individual who serves alcohol in a non-commercial setting. Persons subject to social-host liability in civil actions are typically those that provided alcohol to the obviously intoxicated social guests who subsequently are involved in vehicle crashes or other activities causing death or injury to third parties, or to minors who are injured as a result of intoxication that results from service of alcohol by the host, but the circumstances under which social host liability can result varies by jurisdiction.
Most people are aware that serving alcohol to people who are below the legal age for the consumption of alcohol is illegal in the United States. Exceptions from that prohibition for service of alcohol to minors in family settings, for religious reasons and other purposes varies by state. In some states a person who serves alcohol to a minor may potentially be held liable if the alcohol provided is found to have contributed to the commission of a crime.
A social host who knowingly serves alcohol to minors or knowingly allows minors to consume alcohol may also potentially face criminal charges.