Jerkins Ex Rel. Jerkins v. Anderson

Nine-year-old Joseph Jerkins was dismissed from school on an early-dismissal day, walked off school grounds without an adult, and was struck by a car a few blocks from school later that afternoon. The accident paralyzed Joseph from the neck down. He and his family filed a complaint alleging that the school district and principal breached their duty of reasonable supervision with respect to Joseph’s dismissal from school. The Law Division granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding that their duty of care did not apply to an accident that occurred hours after Joseph’s dismissal…