{"id":174,"date":"2026-06-02T18:33:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoenixrelocationnews.com\/?p=174"},"modified":"2026-06-02T18:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:33:57","slug":"phoenix-high-school-grad-gets-too-drunk-at-senior-ditch-day-party-sues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoenixrelocationnews.com\/?p=174","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix high school grad gets too drunk at Senior Ditch Day party, sues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On May 28, Blake Barnes walked across the stage and received his diploma at Desert Vista High School\u2019s graduation. Six days earlier, he hit the parents of one of his classmates with a lawsuit over a \u201cSenior Ditch Day\u201d party held at their house.<\/p>\n

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Barnes got so drunk at that party, he claims in the suit, that he had to go to the hospital. Now he\u2019s seeking damages from the classmate\u2019s parents, Brandon and Megan Spencer. The lawsuit claims that the Spencers \u201cwere aware that their son was having a Senior Ditch Day party\u201d at their house and that Brandon Spencer had admitted to knowing. The suit does not offer evidence for those claims.<\/p>\n

An attorney for Barnes was not available for comment. In an email to Phoenix New Times, Brandon Spencer said the lawsuit contains \u201ca lot of false information\u201d and that he\u2019d filed an insurance claim and will be hiring an attorney. He did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the party in question occurred at the Spencers\u2019 Ahwatukee home on April 13. Barnes \u2014 who is now 18, per the suit, though it\u2019s unclear whether he was a minor at the time of the party \u2014 received an invitation to the party on Snapchat six days earlier. The Snapchat post, which appeared on the account of the Spencers\u2019 son, included a photo of their home and their address. It advertised a Senior Ditch Day party and said \u201cbyo alc\u201d \u2014 which, as the lawsuit helpfully notes, \u201calso means \u2018Bring Your Own Alcohol.’\u201d<\/p>\n

(New Times is not naming the Spencers\u2019 son, as it is not clear whether he is still a minor.)<\/p>\n

Barnes, who was a senior at Desert Vista, attended along with roughly 60 other high schoolers, the complaint says. The lawsuit also says that \u201calcohol was provided (\u2026) by the owners and occupants\u201d of the house, which would appear to contradict the \u201cbyo alc\u201d nature of the festivities. <\/p>\n

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Whoever provided the alcohol, Barnes apparently drank a lot of it. The complaint says that he \u201cwas injured at the Property and was taken by ambulance to the hospital where his blood alcohol level was tested and determined to be .114,\u201d which is about 1.5 times the legal limit for impaired driving. It isn\u2019t clear what injury he suffered and if it was alcohol-related. The complaint also does not specify who provided the alcohol that Barnes consumed or whether he brought it himself.<\/p>\n

The public calls-for-service database for the Phoenix Fire Department shows a call for service at 1:17 p.m. on April 13 at an address that matches that of the Spencer home, though the last two digits of the street number are redacted. New Times requested calls-for-service records for that day and address from the department but has not received them.<\/p>\n

Barnes\u2019 suit claims that the Spencers \u201cdid not monitor or control the consumption of alcohol at the party\u201d or the \u201creckless activities of the minors\u201d that ensued, which included \u201cjumping off the house roof into the swimming pool.\u201d It\u2019s not clear if that\u2019s how Barnes suffered an injury, but if he did, it would be the second lawsuit this year filed by a Valley partygoer who injured themselves jumping off a roof.<\/p>\n

\n

Barnes is suing on counts of negligence, premises liability and negligent supervision and conduct of a social gathering. Specifically, he\u2019s claiming that the Spencers owed Barnes a duty to \u201cexercise reasonable care for his safety as a social guest,\u201d which they failed to do by allowing alcohol to be consumed. Barnes is seeking a variety of damages in the suit. He wants damages for medical expenses; for \u201cpast and future pain, suffering, and emotional distress;\u201d and \u201cfor loss of enjoyment of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Spencers have not yet responded to the suit in court.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Desert Visa High School grad Blake Barnes got drunk and hurt while skipping school at a classmate’s house. 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