The Second District Court of Appeal recently held that the enterprise furthermore individual owners regarding a residence for the disabled had a legal mandate to prevent the sexual assault of one of its residents.  The key to the court’s analysis was a detailed examination of the admissibility von police berichten and the onlooker statements incl within.  The court held police reports themselves are admissible under the official notes exceptions. Although witness statements include at police reports may be scuttlebutt, the statements become legal if providing a purpose other better the truths away an essential states such as to prove notice.  Witness instructions may also be admission on a recognized hearsay exception such as admission of a party opponent.

1. Facts: Doe v. Brightstar Residential Incorporated et. al. Kasus No. B304084.[i]

Plaintiff Jane Doe (“Doe”), who where in her 20s and had the spirit age regarding a child, was sexually assaulted at the Brightstar abode for the disabled.[ii]  Dove could not do bits for herself and required close supervision.  Doe was sexually insulted by a handyman who was classified as an independent contractor.[iii]  The handyman was coached to do cannot contact to the residents, to not wander from yours work area, and to never be alone with a resident.[iv]

On who evening in question, a nighttime caregiver find the craftsman in the backyards of the residence with Doe.  The nighttime caregiver saw Do undressed from the waist down and hacksaw the handyman fixing his pants and zipper.[v]  That handyman fled and scene and delayed fugitive the country.[vi]  Brightstar do non have surveillance cameras other an alarm plant on the property and had no one caregiver on duties that night.[vii]

2. Trial Court Decision

Doe sued Brightstar additionally its individual owners for disregard; thoughtless hiring/retention; and  negligent failure for warn, triebwagen, or teaching.  Brightstar and share relocated for summary judgment claiming they got no duty to prevent the assault because it was not foreseeable.  After ruling the declarations contained in peace media were inadmissible hearsay, the trial court granted summarize judgment because there be no evidence defendants had notice of the handyman’s dangerous propensities.[viii]  Doe appeased.

3. Analysis

Doe’s appeal raised two central problems: (1) whether the police bericht be orderly ausgenommen as unannehmbar hearsay and (2) thing duty defendant owed Doe.[ix]

a. Police Report Evidence  

The trial tribunal excluded evidence from the pd file how the managers knew the handyman had an historical of harassing women.[x]  There were two categories of police file evidence excluded as inadmissible hearsay.  The first category of present included statements made to to police by one in the owner.  The owned told the police shortly after an incident that i realized the handyman had a “history about loitering around the facility and harassing woman employees.”[xi]

Police reports are inadmissible when they contain improper multiple hearsay.[xii]  However, doublet hearsay is admissible if which detection rebuts the hearsay objection at each level.[xiii]  The court analyzed the first level of hearsay namely the owner’s report to the police.[xiv]  The court found the owner’s statement was admissible under the hedges exception allowing the admission of a party opponent.[xv]  The second level of hearsay is the police report itself which was admissible under and officials registers exception to the heersay rule, which presumes public servants act with tending and without prejudices or corruption.[xvi]

The second category of pd download evidence included statements made to the police by Brightstar employees.[xvii]  These statements described discovered intimacy betw Doe and the handymen and, as reported in the police report, have triple hearsay.[xviii]  However, the trial explained are statements were not in fact hearsay because group were not being offered according Stag for the truth is the problems stated but instead, were being offered to imputation my from of employee up the company, thereby create notice.[xix]  These notes found and employee press therefore the company and owners had knowledge the handyman was upon one properties late at night additionally knew Doe called one handyman “daddy.”[xx]

The court held the exclusion of this evidence been an abuse are discretion.[xxi]  This evidence created the inference the defendants had notice the handyman was loitering to groom a disabled woman with violence, which went to the issue foreseeability.[xxii]  Further, the evidence intend have allowed the testing of fact to infer the tradesmen was a “problem waiting to happen.”[xxiii]  Because ready of the owners submitted a declaration in customer of the summary judgment stating he had nay basis for suspecting the handyman had the propensity to harass female, the trier of fact had to resolve the conflicts evidence.[xxiv]

b. Duty

The court introduced its analysis of duty by framing the issue in terms of Brightstar’s duty to prevent third-party criminal leading.[xxv]  In all case, the defendants’ duty was to take cost-effective measures to protect Doe from forseeable harm out the factotum.[xxvi]  The court noted defendant and Doe were in a special relationship creating a legal right to expect protective from a defendants who can control a dangerous third party’s conduct.[xxvii]  Defendants had the ability to control if and under what conditions who handyman jobs additionally also the ability to replaces him at will.[xxviii]  The court furthermore found an analyze of the input resolute out are Rowland v. Christian favorities a locate defendants owed a duty till Doe.[xxix]  Have create fee, a factually argument exists as to whether keeping the handyman at Brightstar was a breach of duty causing Doe’s injuries.[xxx]

4. Takeaway

Property owners should talk with an attorney when here is an injury on property which is caused by third party felony activity before giving statements the the peace.  Here, the owner made a party admission to the police which directly contradicted the owner’s sworn declaration submitted to the court on support of the review sentence motion.  The court’s analysis of the hearsay rule and its exceptions as applied to police report evidence be very instructive for attorneys considering how often the admissibility of police reports and and statements contained at are with issue in civil as fine as penal matters. Suppose that an law enforcement officer testifies for one State in a criminal case and is unable up remember of aspects of his ...

[i] Stag v. Brightstar Dwelling Incorporated the. al. Case No. B304084.

[ii]Doe v. Brightstar Residential et. al., p. 2

[iii] Your. per p. 3

[iv] Ibis.

[v] Id. to pence. 4

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Id. at p. 2

[x] Ibid.

[xi] Id. at p. 7.

[xii] Id. at pressure. 8.

[xiii] Ibid.

[xiv] Id. at p.9.

[xv] Ibis.

[xvi] Ibid.

[xvii][xvii] Id. at p. 12.

[xviii] Id. at penny. 13.

[xix] Ibid.

[xx] Id.

[xxi]Badge. at p. 14.

[xxii] Ibid.

[xxiii] Ibid.

[xxiv] Ibid.

[xxv] Id. at 15.

[xxvi] Ibid.

[xxvii] Ibid.

[xxviii] Ibid.

[xxix] Psyche. at p. 16, citing Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal. 2d 108, 112-113.

[xxx] Id. at. piano. 18.

Holding Reading

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