Kimberly Hecksher, Plaintiff Below, Appellant v. Fairwinds Baptist Church, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, And…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware reversed the grant of summary judgment to Fairwinds and remanded for trial. It held that a reasonable jury could find that Sandy Sterling's knowledge of the alleged abuse and failure to report it were attributable to Fairwinds, and that Fairwinds was grossly negligent in failing to implement abuse-prevention measures or respond to warning signs concerning the teacher. The Court also held that the Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in structuring discovery, but that Hecksher could renew her motion to amend her complaint. VAUGHN, Justice, dissenting, would have affirmed because the Child Victim's Act requires direct gross negligence by the entity and the evidence did not meet that standard.