Evans v. Akron General Medical Center
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The Supreme Court answered questions certified by the court of appeals in the negative and affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Akron General Medical Center (AGMC) on the issue of whether AGMC was liable for a cause of action for negligent hiring, retention, or supervision, holding that the grant of summary judgment was inappropriate.
Malieka Evans filed a complaint alleging that she had been sexually abused and assaulted by Dr. Amir Shahideh, one of AGMC's employees, while seeking treatment at AGMC. The trial court granted summary judgment for AGMC based on Evans's failure to have filed a cause of action against Dr. Shahideh and her inability to establish the doctor's civil liability or criminal guilt. The court of appeals reversed and certified to the Supreme Court two questions of law. The Supreme Court held (1) a plaintiff need not show that an employee has been adjudicated civilly liable or has been found guilty of a crime in order for the plaintiff to maintain a negligent hiring, retention, or supervision claim against an employer; (2) the statute of limitations for such a claim is not affected by the statute of limitations governing the underlying legally wrongful conduct of the employee; and (3) summary judgment was improper.
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