 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Romero v. Superior Court of San Diego County6/8/2001
Civil Procedure section 437c, subdivision (c), a motion for summary judgment shall be granted if all the papers submitted show there is no triable issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Because a ruling on a summary judgment motion involves pure questions of law, "we are required to reassess the legal significance and effect of the papers presented by the parties in connection with the motion." (Ranchwood Communities Limited Partnership v. Jim Beat Construction Co. (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 1397, 1408.) We strictly construe the evidence of the moving party and liberally construe that of the opponent, "and any doubts as to the propriety of granting the motion should be resolved in favor of the party opposing the motion." (Branco v. Kearny Moto Park, Inc. (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 184, 189.)
A motion for summary adjudication "shall proceed in all procedural respects as a motion for summary judgment." (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (f)(2).) Code of Civil Procedure section 437c, subdivision (f)(1) provides in part:
"A party may move for summary adjudication as to . . . one or more issues of duty, if that party contends that . . . one or more defendants . . . did not owe a duty to the plaintiff or plaintiffs. A motion for summary adjudication shall be granted only if it completely disposes of a cause of action, an affirmative defense, a claim for damages, or an issue of duty." (Italics added.)
DISCUSSION
In their petition, the Romeros argue that the court erred in ruling that they owed a duty to Ryan. We are thus called upon to determine the scope of the duty of care that adults owe to teenagers they invite into their homes to supervise and protect them against assaults by other teenage invitees during their visits.
A. Applicable Legal Principles
"'A tort, whether intentional or negligent, involves a violation of a legal duty, imposed by statute, contract or otherwise, owed by the defendant to the person injured. . . .'" (Nally v. Grace Community Church (1988) 47 Cal.3d 278, 292 (Nally), quoting 5 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (9th ed. 1988) Torts, § 6, p. 61, original italics.) Absent a legal duty, any injury is an injury without actionable wrong. (See 5 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law, supra, Torts, § 6, p. 61 ["Without such a duty, any injury is 'damnum absque injuria,'--injury without wrong"].) "Duty, being a question of law, is particularly amenable to resolution by summary judgment. [Citation.]" (Parsons v. Crown Disposal Co. (1997) 15 Cal.4th 456, 465 (Parsons).) "While it is the province of the jury, as trier of fact, to determine whether an unreasonable risk of harm was foreseeable under the particular facts of a given case, the trial court must still decide as a matter of law whether there was a duty in the first place, even if that determination includes a consideration of foreseeability. [Citations.]" (Clarke v. Hoek (1985) 174 Cal.App.3d 208, 214.)
Here, the court's rulings, if affirmed, would permit this action to proceed against the Romeros on the plaintiffs' seventh cause of action for negligent supervision based on their alleged failure to protect Ryan from being sexually assaulted by Jay in the Romeros' home. "To establish liability in negligence, it is a fundamental principle of tort law that there must be a legal duty owed to the person injured and a breach of that duty which is the proximate cause of the resulting injury. [Citation.]" (Jacoves v. United Merchandising Corp. (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 88, 114 (Jacoves), italics added.)
As we explained in another case, " person is ordinarily not liable for the actions of another and is under no duty to protect
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 California Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|