SEXUAL-ASSAULT CASE REVERSED ON APPEAL

The law does not compensate for every injury or harm, even when the conduct in question is heinous or disturbing. A case which reinforces that point is Dennard v. Small World Center, Inc., wherein a 5-year old was sexually assaulted by another student in a day care center's bathroom facilities. The infant plaintiff and his father later commenced a personal-injury lawsuit against the center, alleging "inadequate supervision," and, after a jury trial, were awarded $800,000 in damages ($250,000 for past pain and suffering and $550,000 for future pain and suffering).
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, vacated the award and dismissed the case. In its decision the appellate court found a lack of "foreseeability," in that there had been no prior reports of "physical or sexual violence" by the student in question. The appellate court reiterated the governing standard as follows:

"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" ... In this case, the plaintiffs presented no evidence indicating that Small World had any knowledge or notice of prior sexual activity or violence.