The Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm was cited in a California Supreme Court opinion holding that universities owed a duty to protect their students from foreseeable violence in the classroom or during curricular activities.
The case involved two students enrolled in the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). While at UCLA, a student started having auditory hallucinations that led him to believe that fellow students were criticizing or threatening him. University staff learned of the student’s delusions and attempted to provide mental-health treatment. The student later stabbed a fellow student during a chemistry lab. The injured student sued the university and several of its employees for negligence, arguing that they failed to protect her from a student’s foreseeable violent conduct.
Taking into consideration the unique features of the collegiate environment, the Supreme Court of California found that the university’s special relationship with its students supports the existence of a duty to protect against foreseeable risks. The court cited § 40 of the Restatement Third of Torts, as well as § 314A of the Restatement Second of Torts, in its discussion on the “special relationship” doctrine, an exception to the general rule that there is no duty to protect others from third-party conduct.