Opinion ID: 1980885
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Vicarious Liability for Conduct Within the Scope of Employment

Text: ถ 15. Plaintiff next contends the trial court erred in rejecting her claim that defendants are vicariously liable for Forrest's misconduct because that conduct fell within the scope of his employment. Under the settled doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer or master is held vicariously liable for the tortious acts of an employee or servant committed during, or incidental to, the scope of employment. Brueckner v. Norwich Univ., 169 Vt. 118, 122-23, 730 A.2d 1086, 1090 (1999). We have adopted the elements of scope of employment set out in Restatement (Second) of Agency ง 229(1). See id. at 123, 730 A.2d at 1091. To establish that a servant's conduct falls within the scope of his or her employment, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the conduct: (a) ... is of the kind the servant is employed to perform; (b) ... occurs substantially within the authorized time and space limits; (c) ... is actuated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the master; and (d) in a case in which force is intentionally used by the servant against another ... is not unexpectable by the master. Id.; Sweet v. Roy, 173 Vt. 418, 430-31, 801 A.2d 694, 703-04 (2002). The conduct of an employee falls outside the scope of employment if it is different in kind from that authorized, far beyond the authorized time or space limits, or too little actuated by a purpose to serve the master. Restatement (Second) of Agency ง 228(2); Sweet, 173 Vt. at 431, 801 A.2d at 704. ถ 16. Plaintiff asserts that Forrest's sexual misconduct satisfies all four prongs of the scope-of-employment test adopted by this Court. We need look no further than the third prong to disagree. See Sweet, 173 Vt. at 431-32, 801 A.2d at 704 (inquiry looks to `whether the acts can properly be seen as intending to advance the employer's interests') (quoting McHugh v. Univ. of Vt., 758 F.Supp. 945, 951 (D.Vt.1991), aff'd, 966 F.2d 67 (2d Cir.1992)). Although Forrest's misconduct occurred while ostensibly on duty, we cannot conclude that coercing plaintiff to perform fellatio was conduct that was actuated, even in part, by a purpose to serve the county sheriff. The act Forrest performed is so different from the acts he was authorized to perform that we can reach this conclusion as a matter of law. See Restatement (Second) of Agency ง 228, cmt. d. ถ 17. For purposes of our analysis, we assume, as plaintiff argues, that Forrest entered the convenience store to carry out a community policing function. The event, however, forming the basis of this suit was undeniably detached from and unrelated to that role. While Forrest may have initially gone to the store to serve the purpose of his employer, his ensuing sexual misconduct cannot be found to further the goals of law enforcement. Indeed, Forrest victimized a person he was there to protect, exactly contrary to the interests of his employer. ถ 18. This case is unlike those where a law enforcement official is overly aggressive in attempting to obtain information from a suspect or in performing the arrest of a suspect. In such a situation, the tortious conduct partially implements law enforcement goals, however inappropriately. See Brueckner, 169 Vt. at 123, 730 A.2d at 1091 (university could be liable for tortious hazing conduct of university cadre members who were acting in furtherance of their general duties to indoctrinate and orient first-year students). Here, Forrest's criminal misconduct โ an act rooted in prurient self-interest โ cannot properly be seen as intending to advance the employer's interests. [2] The superior court properly granted summary judgment to defendants on the ground that Forrest was not acting within the scope of his employment when he sexually assaulted plaintiff. ถ 19. Because we decide that plaintiff does not meet the third prong of the scope of employment test, we need not consider plaintiff's argument that the sexual misconduct was not unexpectable, but instead was foreseeable.