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

Summary

The Idaho Supreme Court considered an interlocutory appeal involving claims that a nonprofit corporation was liable under Idaho Code § 6-1701(4) for injury to a child arising from alleged sexual molestation at a Boy Scout camp. The court held that the statutory cause of action could apply to a corporation's own conduct, including willful conduct by its board or certain high-level agents, and that nonprofit status did not provide tort immunity. It also held that compensation did not categorically preclude a finding that the minors were in the corporation's care or custody, vacated the order denying summary judgment, and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Osborn v. Salinas did not bar the Steeds from pursuing a claim against Grand Teton Council for its own conduct constituting injury to a child under Idaho Code § 6-1701(4). The statute does not create vicarious liability for another person's abuse, but it permits liability for a defendant's own willful conduct.
2. A claim under Idaho Code § 6-1701 is not a negligence per se claim, and the statute's extended limitations period applies only to actions brought under Chapter 17, Title 6, not to common-law negligence or negligence per se claims.
3. 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 required actual knowledge or intent.
4. A nonprofit or charitable corporation is not immune from tort liability for compensatory or punitive damages merely because of its nonprofit or charitable status.
5. Receiving compensation did not, as a matter of law, prevent the Steeds from being 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 under Idaho Code §§ 6-1701(4) and 18-1501.
3. Whether a nonprofit corporation is immune from compensatory or punitive damages on public-policy grounds.
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's denial of Grand Teton Council's motion for summary judgment should be upheld.

Disposition

vacated