Steed v. Grand Teton Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Inc.

Summary

The Idaho Supreme Court considered whether a nonprofit corporation could be liable under Idaho Code § 6-1701(4) for the tort of injury to a child based on its own conduct, rather than vicarious liability for an employee’s conduct. The court held that Osborn v. Salinas did not bar the claim, that a corporation may be liable when the requisite knowledge or intent is held by specified corporate decision-makers or managerial agents, and that nonprofit status does not provide general tort immunity. The court also held that compensation did not categorically preclude the children from being in the organization’s care or custody, vacated the order denying summary judgment, and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Osborn v. Salinas does not bar the Steeds from pursuing a claim against Grand Teton Council for its own conduct constituting the statutory tort of injury to a child under Idaho Code § 6-1701(4); the statute does not create vicarious liability for another person's conduct.
2. A corporation may be liable for the statutory tort of injury to a child when the tort is committed by its board of directors, an agent responsible for forming corporate policy, or a high managerial agent with supervisory responsibility over the subject matter, acting within the scope of employment and possessing the requisite actual knowledge or intent.
3. Idaho Code § 6-1701 does not create a negligence per se claim. It creates independent statutory causes of action and defines the conduct and mental state required for those causes of action; it does not establish a reasonable-person standard of care that replaces ordinary negligence principles.
4. For the pre-amendment version of Idaho Code § 18-1501 applicable to this case, willfully requires actual knowledge, not merely what a reasonable person would have known.
5. A nonprofit or charitable corporation is not categorically immune from tort liability for public-policy reasons, and a court may not imply a waiver of liability absent an agreement by the parties.
6. The Steeds' receipt of food, lodging, and a stipend did not, by itself, preclude a finding that they were in Grand Teton Council's care or custody.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Osborn v. Salinas barred recovery against Grand Teton Council under Idaho Code § 6-1701(4).
2. Whether a corporation may be liable for the statutory tort of injury to a child defined by Idaho Code §§ 6-1701(4) and 18-1501.
3. Whether a nonprofit corporation may be held liable for compensatory or punitive damages.
4. Whether payment of compensation to the Steeds prevented them from being in Grand Teton Council's care or custody.
5. Whether the district court erred in denying Grand Teton Council's motion for summary judgment.

Disposition

vacated