New Torts Case re protecting students from sexual assault, November 2021
California Case Summaries Monthly™
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Below is a free sample of a new case summary from the newly published issue of California Case Summaries Monthly™, with summaries of the 32 new California civil and family law cases published in November of 2021.
California Courts of Appeal
Torts
Doe v. Lawndale Elementary School Dist. (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 5578329: The Court of Appeal reversed in part, and affirmed in part, the trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment in an action for sexual assault of a minor student by a music teacher. The Court of Appeal concluded that school administrators have a duty to protect students from sexual abuse by school employees, even if the school does not have actual knowledge of a particular employee’s history of committing, or propensity to commit, such abuse. Therefore, it reversed the trial court’s order granting summary adjudication on plaintiff’s negligence causes of action. Plaintiff also sued for breach of the mandatory duty to report suspected abuse under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA; Penal Code, section 11164 et seq.). As a matter of first impression, the Court of Appeal held that a plaintiff bringing a cause of action for breach of the mandatory duty to report suspected abuse under CANRA must prove it was objectively reasonable for a mandated reporter to suspect abuse based on the facts the reporter actually knew, not based on facts the reporter reasonably should have discovered. Because plaintiff did not create a triable issue of material fact regarding whether any of defendant school district’s employees knew of facts from which a reasonable person in a like position could suspect abuse, it affirmed the trial court’s order granting summary adjudication as to the CANRA cause of action. (C.A. 2nd, November 30, 2021.)
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