Doe v. Boy Scouts of America Corporation

John Doe (plaintiff) was a member of the Boy Scouts of America Corporation (Boy Scouts) (defendant) in the mid-1970s. Doe’s patrol leader, Siegfried Hepp, who was about three years older than Doe, sexually abused him on three separate occasions while participating in scouting activities. In 2012 Doe filed various claims, including a negligent failure to implement measures to prevent sexual abuse. At trial, Boy Scouts requested a jury instruction indicating that, in general, a defendant does not bear responsibility for anticipating the intentional bad behavior of others, Hepp in this case, unless the defendant was aware or had cause to be aware of the third party’s propensity for such behavior during the relevant years. Also, Boy Scouts requested that the jury be instructed regarding an exception to this rule that applied if a defendant’s own behavior caused or elevated a foreseeable risk that the third party’s behavior would injure the plaintiff. The trial court refused to provide these instructions to the jury, instructing the jury on standard negligence elements instead. The jury found in favor of Doe on all of his claims, and Doe’s total award of damages was over 11 million dollars. Boy Scouts moved unsuccessfully to set the jury’s verdict aside, for remittitur, and for a new trial. Boy Scouts also moved unsuccessfully for judgment notwithstanding the jury’s verdict. Boy Scouts appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, asserting various arguments, including that the trial court had erred in not instructing the jury as it had requested.