Sex-Abuse Case Involving School Should Proceed, Court Rules

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that a state law protecting charities from negligence lawsuits does not apply to all sex-abuse cases, reports the Associated Press.

The ruling allows John W. Hardwicke Jr. to proceed with his lawsuit against the American Boychoir School, in Princeton. Mr. Hardwicke says he was repeatedly molested by four employees as a student at the school 35 years ago.

In a 5-1 ruling, the court said the state’s Charitable Immunity Act protects charities from being sued for negligence, not from charges based on “willful, wanton, or grossly negligent conduct.”

Donald B. Edwards, president of the school, says he has no reason to doubt that at least some abuse may have occurred. But the school has said it should be immune from negligence lawsuits, arguing that it is neither a “natural person” nor an individual standing in for a parent, two standards indicating legal liability.

(See The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s story on the lawsuit. A paid subscription is required to read this article.)