Dudley v. Offender Aid & Restoration of Richmond, Inc.

A convicted felon serving a penitentiary sentence was permitted to reside in a privately-operated “halfway house.” While there, he left the premises of the “halfway house,” broke and entered the residence of a woman, raped her, and strangled her to death. Her administrator brought this action at law against the operator of the “halfway house,” alleging that the decedent’s death resulted from the negligence of the operator in failing to exercise reasonable care to control the felon.

The trial court sustained a demurrer and dismissed the case. We awarded the administrator an appeal. The sole…