North Dakota Parental Responsibility

Understanding a parent’s or legal guardian’s possible culpability in North Dakota for a minor’s “willful wrongdoing” or carelessness.

Almost every state has some sort of parental responsibility statute that may be used to make a parent or legal guardian financially liable when a young kid causes certain types of accidents or damage. In certain places, parents are not necessarily accountable for everything their underage children do. Parental culpability is often confined to when the kid acts willfully or maliciously, however parents may also be financially liable for accidents, depending on the provisions of the state legislation.

So, what do the parental responsibility laws in North Dakota say? We’ll go over some of the main topics in this essay.

What are the Parental Responsibility Laws in North Dakota?

North Dakota’s parental responsibility laws are divided into two categories:

Property damage (covered under N.D. Century Code § 32-03-39) and bodily injuries caused by driving (covered by N.D. Century Code section 39-06-09).

It should be noted that the age of majority varies per state. North Dakota, like other states, has an age of majority of 18; hence, the laws detailed below apply solely to children under the age of 18.

When a Minor Causes Property Damage in North Dakota, Parents Are Liable.

In North Dakota, parents may be held liable if their underage child deliberately or knowingly damages property (real or personal). So, if a juvenile spray paints a fence, cuts some tires, tosses a rock through a window, or participates in a friendly game of mailbox baseball, the parents will be financially accountable for the resulting property damage (up to a point).

Individuals or businesses (including companies, towns, and religious organizations) may file a civil action directly against the minor’s parents under N.D. Century Code § 32-03-39. In other words, whether the owner is a person or a legal body, the owner of the injured property is entitled to remedy.

However, recovery is restricted to actual damages up to $1,000.00 plus court expenses. The term “actual damages” refers to the measurable losses caused by the minor’s behavior. It is essentially the expense of replacing or repairing the destroyed item. It excludes non-economic damages like pain and suffering. In other words, under section 32-03-39, parents cannot be sued for non-economic losses or for more than $1,000.

When a Minor’s Driving Causes Damage in North Dakota, Parents Are Liable.

A parent or guardian of a child must sign and validate the minor’s application for a driver’s permit or license in North Dakota. The individual who signed the application is jointly and severally accountable with the minor under N.D. Century Code § 39-06-09 if the minor causes damages (including vehicle damage or physical injuries) via careless operation of a motor vehicle.

“Joint and several responsibility” indicates that both the parent and the minor might be held individually or collectively liable for the damages. This is significant for both the injured party and the liable parties (parent and kid), since the injured party might demand that the parent and child pay for the damages together or that either of them be held entirely accountable for losses resulting from a car accident.

In North Dakota, “common law” may nevertheless place responsibility on parents.

Even if a minor’s acts are not covered by the North Dakota statutes listed above, a non-statutory collection of traditional legal principles known as “common law” may hold parents liable for the minor’s conduct.

For example, if a parent is aware that his or her kid participates in reckless conduct and has “hazardous proclivities,” the parent may be obligated to take reasonable efforts to prevent the child from causing foreseeable injury to others as a consequence of such activity.

Assume a parent is aware that his or her kid purchases and fires fireworks without regard for the safety of others. Clearly, the parent is aware of the child’s actions; nonetheless, the parent does nothing to intervene. If the kid subsequently causes an accident by carelessly launching fireworks, the parent may be held liable for failing to take reasonable precautions to control the child’s conduct.