Sexual Abuse Because of Negligent Supervision Claim

In Chaney v. Superior Court (1995) 39 Cal. App. 4th 152 [46 Cal. Rptr. 2d 73], a family friend alleged she was repeatedly sexually abused as a minor when she was visiting in the alleged abuser's home. She sought to hold the wife of the alleged abuser liable under a theory of negligent supervision. The appellate court found the wife's demurrer should have been sustained because the facts alleged, standing alone, were insufficient to show that the wife had knowledge of her husband's deviant propensities such that it would cause her to take measures to prevent the alleged sexual abuse. The court held: "It is not enough to allege that the sexual misconduct was conceivable. The plaintiff must allege facts showing that it was foreseeable, i.e., facts from which it can be inferred that the wife must have known that her husband was engaging in, or wished to engage in, acts of sexual misconduct with a minor." (Id. at p. 158.)