Opinion ID: 2275966
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Controlling a Third Party's Conduct

Text: There is ordinarily no duty to control a third party's conduct to prevent harm to another individual. The law, however, has recognized an exception to this general rule when a defendant has a special relationship with either the person whose conduct needs to be controlled or with the intended victim of the conduct. The Restatement (Second) of Torts § 315 at 122 (1965) reflects the general common law rule of non-liability and its exceptions: There is no duty so to control the conduct of a third person as to prevent him from causing physical harm to another unless (a) a special relation exists between the actor and the third person which imposes a duty upon the actor to control the third person's conduct, or (b) a special relation exists between the actor and the other which gives to the other a right to protection. [9] Although this Court has not had the opportunity to assess duty in the context of a mental health provider and a patient, we have addressed, in other circumstances, what duty is owed by a defendant to a plaintiff to prevent a third party from harming the plaintiff. In Volpe, a landowner-liability case, the defendant allowed her mentally-ill son to live with her in her home, where he kept several firearms. Volpe, 821 A.2d at 702-03. The son shot and killed the defendant's neighbor with a weapon that he kept in the house. Id. at 703. Under that factual scenario, we held that the defendant owed a duty to exercise reasonable care in controlling her son, concluding that, under these circumstances, [the] defendant knew or had reason to know that she had the ability to control her son's conduct on her property merely byas she herself admittedtelling him to remove the guns and ammunition from her house, and, if he failed to do so, by removing them herself. Id. at 709. Likewise, in Martin, we recognized that generally a landowner does not have a duty to protect another from harm caused by the dangerous or illegal acts of a third party. Martin, 871 A.2d at 915. But there, we also recognized an exception to the general rule based on a special relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff. Id. at 915-16. Specifically, the defendant had hosted a graduation party during which alcohol was served to underage partygoers. Id. at 914. Those guests included a third party who attacked the plaintiff with a baseball bat. Id. We held that because of this special relationship, the circumstances imposed a duty on the defendant to exercise reasonable care to protect the plaintiff. Id. at 915-16. As we now turn to this case of first impression, we are mindful that we need not write on a blank slate because other jurisdictions have addressed this vexing issue, and we will look to them for guidance.