Brockett

For the second time, this case is before us; this time in a different posture and in a different climate. We are now called upon to decide, squarely, whether the umbrella of social drinking, in an era in which social drinking is a way of life for many, shields from civil liability, the actor who- knowingly and wilfully plies a minor with intoxicating liquor with the knowledge that the minor is going to drive an automobile on the public highways.

The chronology follows:

The defendant demurred to the complaint on the ground that it failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action; the demurrer was sustained on that ground without leave to amend; there followed a judgment of dismissal. Plaintiffs appealed.

We reversed the judgment primarily because plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that defendant placed the minor in his automobile while he was in a grossly intoxicated condition and directed him to drive the car through traffic to his home. (Brockett v. Kitchen Boyd Motor Co., 264 Cal.App.2d 69 [ 70 Cal.Rptr. 136 ].) We concluded that those allegations removed the complaint from within the pale of Fleckner v. Dionne, 94 Cal.App.2d 246 [ 210 P.2d 530 ], and its…