Supreme Court of Delaware

Bates v. Crsd

October 6, 2021

Summary

The Court affirmed summary judgment for the school entities on claims arising from a teacher's sexual misconduct with a student. It held that the non-delegable-duty exception to respondeat superior does not generally apply in the high-school student-teacher context, and that the teacher's conduct was outside the scope of employment because it was not motivated by a purpose to serve the employer. The Court also left undisturbed the Superior Court's determination that the gross-negligence allegations lacked evidentiary support.