California Supreme Court Says Public Colleges Have Duty To Protect Students From Foreseeable Violence
The unanimous decision, among the first of its kind in the nation, centered around a stabbing case at UCLA. The court noted that UCLA had marketed itself as "one of the safest campuses in the country" and developed "sophisticated strategies for identifying and defusing potential threats to student safety."
Los Angeles Times:
In Ruling For Victim In UCLA Attack, California Supreme Court Says Universities Should Protect Students
Katherine Rosen, a pre-med student in her junior year at UCLA, was in chemistry lab when she knelt to put something in her desk drawer. A classmate came up behind her and stabbed her in her neck and chest. She survived the life-threatening injuries, returned to school and sued UCLA for negligence, charging the campus was aware of her classmate's "dangerous propensities" and failed to warn and protect her. On Thursday, nearly nine years after the stabbing, the California Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and decided Rosen's lawsuit could go forward. (Dolan, 3/22)