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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, March 4, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will explore the standards applied by courts to determine who may face civil liability for physical or sexual abuse perpetrated by third parties. The panel will discuss the duty of care to protect victims from third-party harm, how these standards are argued and applied in various jurisdictions, and the role of policy considerations in assessing the existence of the duty and ultimate liability.

Faculty

Kathryn S. Whitlock
Attorney
McAngus Goudelock & Courie LLP

Ms. Whitlock has spent her entire career defending and counseling individuals and insurance companies in professional liability, products liability and premises liability matters. She represents those in the legal, insurance, real estate and education fields. Ms. Whitlock is highly-skilled in the courtroom and alternative dispute forum; she has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict, bench decision and final arbitrator award in state and federal courts. She has been recognized in her practice by The Best Lawyers in America© and Georgia Super Lawyers, and was named among America’s Top Lawyers by The American Law Society in 2018.

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Heather E. Simpson
Partner
Kennedys CMK, LLP

Ms. Molz regularly advocates for small businesses and nationwide companies as they tackle complex workplace issues. As part of the firm’s Labor & Employment team, she represents employers in litigation before state and federal courts, administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). 

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Jessica A. Moldovan
Partner
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Ms. Moldovan is a Partner in the New York office of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein where she is a member of the firm’s employment, sex abuse, antitrust, and securities practice groups. Among other matters, Ms. Moldovan currently represents a class of female employees challenging systemic gender discrimination at Goldman Sachs as well as individuals who were physically and sexually abused while patients at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU School of Law where she teaches the course “Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion” with Kenji Yoshino. Prior to joining Lieff Cabraser, Ms. Moldovan was a Research Fellow at the Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU Law and a judicial clerk for the Honorable Cheryl Ann Krause on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Honorable Allyne R. Ross on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She has worked at the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Educational Opportunities Section.

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Description

Historically, only the perpetrator of a sexual crime could be held liable to the victim. Changing awareness and cultural norms have led to an evolution in this area of the law. First, there was the introduction of sexual harassment claims in the workplace context. And now there are sexual abuse claims against several categories of defendants. Plaintiffs claim that defendants employed, supervised, regulated, or otherwise had a relationship with the perpetrator that gave rise to a duty to protect the plaintiff from the abuse. This panel has presented on the genesis of these claims and will now move forward to discuss the continued evolution of them.

Under the common law, the duty to protect from third-party harm was a narrow one. However, increasing litigation and media attention on sexual abuse has presented courts with the opportunity to consider various public policy arguments made by plaintiffs seeking to expand the scope of liability. Additionally, new theories of liability continue to emerge around the country as to these claims.

Listen as this experienced panel reviews the duty of care to third parties as stated in the Restatement (Third) of Torts and as set forth by the highest courts in various jurisdictions, as well as limitations and expansions of the traditional understanding of this duty.

Outline

  1. What is the traditional scope of the duty to prevent harm from third parties?
  2. What are some exceptions to the conventional view of "no duty"?
    1. Duty to disclose known abuse
    2. Duty to protect
      1. Sex trafficking
      2. Students
    3. Repurposing traditional negligence theories
      1. Landlord-tenant
      2. Employer-employee (if, for example, the perpetrator is a paid athlete)
    4. Contract claims
    5. Parent claims
    6. Derivative actions
  3. How have courts considered public policy factors?
  4. What are some potential insurance implications?

Benefits

The panel will review these and other related issues:

  • What are some new theories of liability?
  • What special issues arise when the events alleged are decades old?
  • What are some potential insurance implications?