State not liable for assault by minors under agency's care

By Daniel G. Lloyd

The State of Washington has no duty to prevent minors who are under the State's care from assaulting third parties, the Washington Supreme Court has held.

In Aba Sheikh v. Choe, no. 76723-8 (Feb. 16, 2006), the State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) placed two youths in foster care. Sixteen-year-old Miguel Pierre was a foster child in the home of foster parent Emma Daniels. DSHS was required to develop and monitor a plan for Pierre's foster-home placement and to submit periodic reports to juvenile court. Daniels, however, had asked that DSHS remove Pierre from her home because of his delinquent and criminal behavior.

Another foster child in Daniels's home was 13-year-old Mychal Anderson. Anderson's foster-care placement was a "dependency guardianship," which is more permanent than foster care but less so than a formal adoption. This arrangement charged Daniels with more and DSHS with less control over Anderson than was true of Pierre's foster-care placement. But as with Pierre, Daniels asked that DSHS remove Anderson from her home due to his criminal and generally incorrigible behavior.

One night, Anderson, Pierre, and two others assaulted Said Aba Sheikh in the parking lot of a convenience store. Aba Sheikh later sued the State, Daniels, the assailants, and the owners of the convenience store. The State moved for summary judgment, arguing that it owed Aba Sheikh no legal duty. The trial court denied the motion. The State appealed to the Washington Court of Appeals, which certified the case to the Supreme Court for direct review.