Abstract
Few doctrines are as ingrained in the American civil justice system as that of vicarious liability: holding a principal liable for an agent’s tortious conduct. Public policy, further bolstered now by modern economic theory, provides the foundation for this doctrine. With respect to a principal’s liability for an agent’s intentional tort, the modern view has been to hold a principal just as liable for such an act as a negligent one. Virginia had largely been in step with this trend. However, beginning in 2018, the Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the Commonwealth’s course, particularly with respect to cases of sexual abuse. The net effect of the Court’s recent decisions is that it is now virtually impossible for sexual abuse victims to have their civil causes of action heard by a jury, shifting the cost for these egregious acts away from the principal and back onto the innocent victim. This is not right. This article seeks to highlight the evolution of this area of law in Virginia and proposes immediate action by the General Assembly.
Recommended Citation
Mark D. Dix & Robert C. Reed,
The General Assembly Must Act to Protect Victims of Sexual Abuse Following the Supreme Court of Virginia's Recent and Significant Circumscription of Vicarious Liability,
28
Rich. Pub. Int. L. Rev.
155
(2024).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/pilr/vol28/iss2/5