D.W. v. Bliss

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Larson, J.:

In this first impression damage action, we must decide if the wife of a criminal offender has a special relationship with a minor, giving rise to her having a duty to warn the minor of the likelihood of being sexually abused by her husband.

We must further decide if liability may be imposed on the wife of a criminal offender under the theory of premises liability, as described by Restatement (Second) of Torts § 314A(3) (1964) for the criminal acts of her husband occurring on real property which they jointly owned and where they both resided.

In…