Category: School District Liability
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Primary Assumption of the Risk Applied to Student Who Chose to Participate in Basketball PE Class, Regardless of Whether It Was Part of Curriculum
In Yzaguirre v. Clovis Unified School District, ordered published October 21, 2026, the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed a jury verdict for the defendant district. The plaintiff was a 12-year-old in seventh grade. He played basketball on the school’s junior varsity team and on a separate travel team outside school. The school required students…
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Absence of Records from Decades before Lawsuit Filed Did Not Create Triable Issue of Fact on School District’s Actual or Constructive Knowledge of Teacher’s Dangerous Propensities
In John Doe N.K. v. Palm Springs Unified School District, ordered published October 21, 2026, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1 affirmed summary judgment for the defendant school district. The plaintiff filed suit in 2022, alleging that his former teacher sexually abused him while he was attending high school as a 16-year-old during…
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Departing from Court’s Own Precedent, Court Rules School District Not Immune from Off-Campus Sexual Assault of Student Allegedly Due to On-Campus Negligence
In Victor Valley Union High School Dist. v. Superior Court (Magistrale), published July 13, 2026, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 2 declined to issue a writ reversing denial of summary judgment. The plaintiff, then a 15-year-old student, participated in ROTC at her high school. A teacher, the ROTC assistant commandant, offered to drive…
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School District Was Statutorily Immune from Liability for Student’s Off-Campus Suicide, Because None of the Exceptions Immunities Applied
In Vallejo City Unified School District v. Superior Court (Caguin), ordered published January 27, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal, Division 4 issued a writ directing a trial court to grant a motion for summary judgment/summary adjudication in part. A sixth-grade student had conflicts with other students. The student reached out to her teacher…
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Although School Administrator’s Political Social Media Post Was Protected Speech, the School District’s Interests in Workplace Harmony Outweighed the Administrator’s 1st Amendment Interests
In Thompson v. CVSD No 365, published December 29, 2025, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the defendant school district and administrators. The plaintiff was a middle school assistant principal. He posted a comment on Facebook, shared with his Facebook “friends” only, about the Democratic National Convention that used epithets, slurs,…
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School District That Lacks Actual or Constructive Knowledge of Propensities of Third Party’s Employee Bars Liability for Negligent Supervision
In Rancho Cucamonga v. Superior Court (Flowers), ordered published December 3, 2025, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 2 issued a writ reversing a trial court’s denial of summary adjudication of a cause of action. The plaintiff alleged that when he was a minor the director of his school’s childcare program sexually abused him.…
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AB 218’s Revival of Abuse Claims Barred by Claim Deadline Is Not Unconstitutional Gift of Public Funds
In O.B. v. Los Angeles Unified School District, ordered published August 27, 2025, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 1 reversed judgment on the pleadings granted to the defendant district. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit in 2021 arising out of alleged sexual assault by a teacher in 2003. The plaintiff alleged that the district…
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Government Code section 855.4 Immunizes School District from Liability under FEHA and Labor Code for Work-at-Home and Vaccination Decisions
In Allos v. Poway Unified School District, ordered published July 7, 2025, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1 affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendant school district. The plaintiff, a senior business systems analyst for the district, started working at home when the COVID-19 Pandemic shut down the district's in-person operations in March…
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School District Was Statutorily Immune from Liability for Negligent Hiring and Supervising Employee Who Killed Student Off-Campus
In Taylor v. Los Angeles Unified School District, ordered published July 2, 2025, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 3 reversed a judgment based on a jury verdict. The defendant district hired a man as a part-time playground worker and supervisor for an afterschool program at an elementary school. In 2019, the district later assigned…
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School Personnel Can Be Found Negligent for Failing to Comply with District and School Anti-Bullying Policies
In E.I. v. El Segundo Unified School District, published June 13, 2025, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 8 affirmed a jury verdict for the plaintiff. The plaintiff who was a middle-school student who was subjected to extensive online and in-person bullying by two classmates. The plaintiff, her parents, and schoolmates repeatedly reported the bullying…