Catholic Brotherhood Could Be Vicariously Liable for Alleged Acts of Sexual Abuse at School

Maitland Walker
November 26, 2012

http://www.maitlandwalker.com/Blog/Catholic-brotherhood-could-be-vicariously-liable-for-alleged-acts-of-sexual-abuse-at-school.aspx

The Supreme Court has unanimously held that a Catholic Institute (a brotherhood of teachers) was vicariously liable for alleged sexual abuse by brother-teachers of children at a boys' school. Although the brother-teachers were employed by the school's management rather than the Institute, the Institute was sufficiently closely connected with the brother-teachers to create an employment relationship for vicarious liability purposes. Further, the alleged abuse was sufficiently closely connected with the employment for the Institute to be liable.

The Supreme Court approved the recent Court of Appeal decision in JGE v Trustees of Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust [2012] IRLR 846, in which a bishop was held to be vicariously liable for a priest's sexual assault on a resident of a children's home. (Catholic Child Welfare Society and others v Various Claimants and others [2012] UKSC 56.)