New Jersey Justices Split Over School Abuse Liability Test

The New Jersey Supreme Court expanded the ability of students to sue schools over teacher sexual abuse in a ruling that elicited a dissent—a rare occurrence on the court.

While schools don’t hold a fiduciary duty for students, they can be liable for actions teachers take outside the scope of their employment, Justice Anne M. Patterson wrote for the 6-1 court. The key, she said, is that schools can only be held liable if plaintiffs show the institution “tacitly approved” the “school employee’s sexual abuse of or sexual misconduct against the student.”

For example, “if a student reported such sexual ...