Niece v. Elmview Group Home

A developmentally disabled woman brought this action for damages against a private group home after she was sexually assaulted by a staff member at the home. We are asked to determine the tort theories under which a group home for developmentally disabled persons may be liable for such assaults. We hold that (1) the special relationship between the group home and its vulnerable residents gives rise to a duty of reasonable care, owed by the group home to its residents, to protect the residents from all foreseeable harms, and (2) sexual assault by a staff member is not a legally unforeseeable…