This action was brought by a high school student [Plaintiff]. Plaintiff alleged that she was sexually assaulted by another high school student while at the school. Plaintiff, suing individually and Plaintiff's mother and natural guardian, commenced this action against the "Board of Education, et al." [Defendants], to recover damages for personal injuries.
The Defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff's complaint. Supreme Court denied the Defendants' motion for summary judgment and Defendants appealed the court's decision. The Appellate Division affirmed Supreme Court's ruling "insofar as appealed from, with costs" indicating:
1. "[T]he proponent of a summary judgment motion must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence to demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact*;
2. "Schools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision ... The duty owed derives from the simple fact that a school, in assuming physical custody and control over its students, effectively takes the place of parents and guardians;
3. "In determining whether the duty to provide adequate supervision has been breached in the context of injuries caused by the acts of fellow students, it must be established that school authorities had sufficiently specific knowledge or notice of the dangerous conduct which caused injury; that is, that the third-party acts could reasonably have been anticipated; and
4. "Actual or constructive notice to the school of prior similar conduct is generally required ... [and] an injury caused by the impulsive, unanticipated act of a fellow student ordinarily will not give rise to a finding of negligence absent proof of prior conduct that would have put a reasonable person on notice to protect against the injury-causing act".
The Appellate Division, noting that Defendants "established that they lacked actual or constructive notice of the assailant's potential for causing harm; submitted evidence that [Plaintiff] and the assailant had no previous significant interaction; and that the assailant's disciplinary record did not include any sexually aggressive behavior", found Defendants "failed to establish as a matter of law that the general security measures at the school were sufficient under the circumstances and that the incident occurred in such a short span of time that it could not have been prevented by the most intense supervision."
The Appellate Division concluded that "under the circumstances", Supreme Court properly denied the Defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff's complaint.
* A failure to make such prima facie showing requires the denial of
the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing papers
Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.