A Norfolk judge has refused to apply charitable immunity for a private, non-profit college sued by a purported rape victim. The decision was seen by one lawyer as a milestone in a steady erosion of charitable immunity protection for private schools. The judge cited the changing role of colleges in modern society as he denied immunity for the school.
Plaintiff’s attorney Stuart Plotnick explained, “One of the school’s main defenses to our claim that it qualified as a charity under Virginia law and true charities are immune from liability even when the commit negligence. Back in the day schools and many other charitable types institutions did not have the option of buying liability insurance. We challenged their claim of immunity and that education itself was a charitable purpose, as it may have been 20 or 30 years ago. This Judge agreed with our view of the law that education per se is no longer a charitable purpose, and the fact that the school made profits from various enterprises, collected debts, and operated akin to a business for profit also took it out of the realm of being a charity. As a result the is one of the first rulings of its kind in Virginia and our case can go forward against the school for the rape of our client and the school’s negligence.”
Read the article at Virginia Lawyers weekly: http://valawyersweekly.com/2015/12/23/no-charitable-immunity-for-private-college/#ixzz3wJ0L066Q