Cases
Case in which a student reports to the School Counselor that a friend has the intention of killing herself. The School Counselor does not notify the parents of this report and the student in question completes suicide. Ruling: Breach of Duty confirmed
What is Eisel v. Board of Education Montgomery County?
Contributory negligence, comparative negligence, and assumption of risk
What are affirmative defenses?
A school that is part of a state-run correctional facility fails to protect a student against injury by another student or other third party
What is the Fourth Condition (special relationship)?
Case of a student getting seriously injured in a car accident after leaving campus midday without permission and parents were not notified of truancy. Ruling: School not liable - no proximate cause
What is Palella v. Ulmer?
The two conditions required for a finding of legal cause
What are causation in fact and proximate cause?
The plaintiff must show that the school district exposed them to people with a known propensity to harm
What is the Third Condition (risk of pre-existing dangers)?
Case in which parents sue the school district claiming violation of constitutional rights under Section 1983 due to the attending school having a deficient check-out policy. This deficient check-out policy allowed a man to pick up their daughter from school on several occasions even though he was not on the “Permission to Check-Out Form.” Consequently, the man molested the student then returned her to the school. Ruling: District court judgment affirmed - no constitutional violations
What is Doe v. Covington County School District?
Duty to act as a hypothetical reasonable person to protect others against a foreseeable risk of harm
What is standard of care?
Inadequate hiring policies and inadequate training of employees can be viewed as forms of indifference
What is the Second Condition (deliberately indifferent)?
Case in which a student committed suicide after allegedly suffering harassment from other high school students who were allegedly “sexting” a nude picture of plaintiff and plaintiff completed a television interview about the incident. Ruling: Officer was entitled to qualified immunity & continued discovery allowed as to School Board’s policies & actions related to “sexting” and harassment
What is Logan v. Sycamore Community School Board of Education?
Contribution of harm from someone else’s action or inaction in addition to the defendant’s carelessness
What is an intervening cause?
The Supreme Court stated that these are not permitted against a school district because they would only punish the taxpayers and that only individuals can act with malice, not government entities
What are punitive damages?
Case in which a 2nd grade student was assaulted, sexually and physically, in an unlocked shed on the playground by other 1st and 2nd grade students while attending a supervised after-school program. Parents sued the school district for negligent supervision. Ruling: Summary judgment reversed & the cause is remanded for further proceedings to see if plaintiffs can prove proximate cause of negligence & harm was foreseeable
What is J.H. v. Los Angeles United School District?
Defense that plaintiff cannot recover any damages if his/her injury can be attributed in part to his/her own carelessness
What is contributory negligence?
The wrongdoing was undertaken pursuant to a custom or formal policy of the district; the individual who committed the wrongful act was an official with final policymaking authority; an official with final authority ratified a subordinate’s act
What is the First Condition (customary practice or formal policy)?