Motion for Summary Judgment Won on Behalf of a Town and Its Board of Education
May 21, 2025Attorneys Deborah Etlinger and Erin Canalia recently won a Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of a town and its Board of Education, in a high-stakes lawsuit. Plaintiff John Doe claimed he had been sexually abused by an elementary school teacher many years ago. The plaintiff claimed the town and Board of Education were negligent in their supervision of the teacher and in their alleged failure to report the claimed abuse as mandated reporters.
Despite the passage of time, Attorneys Etlinger and Canalia were able to conduct targeted discovery to set the stage for filing a successful Motion for Summary Judgment based upon the defense of governmental immunity. The court agreed with the defendants’ position and held that a plaintiff cannot aggregate the knowledge of various school employees to create a duty to report suspected abuse. The court further held that the board’s supervision duty was a discretionary function as to which governmental immunity applied. It rejected that the identifiable victim in danger of imminent harm exception applied based upon the facts in this case. As to the town, the court granted summary judgment in its favor finding that any potential liability was vicarious. The court held that because the board had no liability, neither did the town.
Attorneys Etlinger and Canalia have extensive experience defending institutional clients in these types of cases. They are currently offering in-house seminars on how to successfully defend these claims, and they welcome inquires as to how they may be of assistance in these matters.
Deborah Etlinger practices in the areas of insurance defense and insurance coverage. She has thirty-five years of legal experience. Deborah’s clients are insurance companies seeking legal services to address complex matters and high stakes litigation. Matters include construction defect, toxic tort, employment, and defense of institutional clients in sexual molestation cases.
Erin E. Canalia’s practice focuses on insurance defense, insurance coverage and civil litigation. Her experience includes litigating cases involving complex legal and factual issues, including in the fields of product liability, employment discrimination and construction defect law. Her practice also includes litigating at the appellate level and before administrative agencies.