Utah Supreme Court issues Important Decision Holding Employers May Owe Duty of Reasonable Care to Third-Party in Hiring, Traning & Supervising Employees
In a recent decision written but Justice Lee (with a very well-reasoned dissent by Justice Nehring), the Utah Supreme Court in Graves v. North Eastern Services, Inc ., 2015 UT 28, held that the “fault” to be apportioned under Utah Code Section 78B-5-818 (Utah's comparative negligence statute) is not limited to negligence but extends to intentional torts. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly for Utah employers, the Court held that employers may owe a duty of reasonable care to third-parties in hiring, training and supervising employees in certain circumstances. Lastly, the Court held that expert testimony on the standard of care was not needed with respect to questions of ordinary negligence. Where the standard implicates scientific matters beyond the capacity of an ordinary juror, however, expert testimony may be required, such as in medical malpractice cases. In Graves, the parents of a minor girl who had been assaulted at one of the Defendant's client'' re...