State Dep’t of State Hosps. v. Superior Court
Annotate this CaseBefore Gilton Pitre was paroled from state prison the State Department of Mental Health (DMH) assessed whether he should be civilly committed under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA). The DMH ultimately did not request a petition for commitment. Four days after Pitre was paroled, he raped and murdered Plaintiff’s fifteen-year-old sister. Plaintiff sued DMH and two of its acting directors (collectively, Defendants) claiming that her sister’s death was caused by Defendants’ failure to discharge a mandatory duty imposed by the SVPA. Defendants demurred, arguing that Plaintiff failed to state a cause of action and that they were immune from liability. The demurrer was overruled, and Defendants petitioned for a writ of mandate. The Court of Appeal directed the superior court to sustain the demurrer, concluding that the SVPA imposed a mandatory duty on Defendants but that Plaintiff could not establish that the breach of that duty was the proximate cause of her sister’s death. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Court of Appeal did not err in its conclusions.
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