Doe v. Brandon
Annotate this CaseIn 2005, Paul Alan Brandon, a church volunteer who was an ordained Assemblies of God minister, sexually abused Plaintiff. In 2011, Plaintiff filed a negligence action against the Minnesota District Council of the Assemblies of God (“District Council”) because it recommended the renewal of the ministerial credentials of Brandon. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the District Council on the negligence claim, concluding that the District Council did not owe Plaintiff a duty of care. The court of appeals reversed, determining that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that the District Council’s conduct created a foreseeable risk of injury to a foreseeable plaintiff, and thus, under Domagala v. Rolland, the District Council owed Plaintiff a duty of care, even in the absence of a special relationship. The Supreme Court reversed, holding, as a matter of law, that the District Council had no duty to Plaintiff, as there was no special relationship between the District Council, and Plaintiff and the District Council did not create a foreseeable risk of injury to a foreseeable plaintiff.
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