Court Opinion

ID: 9688111
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 17:30:44.934893+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:05:07.525126
License: Public Domain

GARDEBRING, Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that adults, who are in a position of authority relative to children, have no obligation to act once they know the children are being sexually abused. While we may not be our brother’s keeper, in a civilized society, I believe it appropriate that the law recognize that we may be our children’s keeper.
The general rule, as properly noted by the majority, is that a person does not have a duty to warn or protect others of danger caused by the conduct of a third party. Olson v. Ische, 343 N.W.2d 284, 287-88 (Minn.1984); see also State v. Ulvinen, 313 N.W.2d 425, 429 (Minn.1981); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 315.
However, this court has plainly recognized that a duty may arise where the harm is foreseeable and a special relationship exists between the actor and the person seeking protection. Erickson v. Curtis Inv. Co., 447 N.W.2d 165, 168-69 (Minn.1989). That the harm was foreseeable is uncontroverted on these facts — the park manager was told by the children that Whittemore was sexually abusing them. Thus, we are left only with the question of whether a special relationship existed between the park manager and the children. It is upon this question that I part company with the majority, which concludes that no such relationship existed.
In order to reach its conclusion, the majority opinion reads Erickson to impose a greater duty of care and responsibility on the owner of a parking ramp, relative to its patrons, than upon adults to whom children report criminal sexual abuse. In my view, the majority reads the “parking ramp case” too narrowly, essentially limiting the holding of Erickson to its facts. While in Erickson we held that a special duty arose because of the unique circumstances that exist in a parking ramp which gave rise to the risk of crime, a risk which the parking ramp operator was in a position to deter, nothing in the opinion suggests that those were the only types of special circumstances which might give rise to a duty.
I conclude, as did the court of appeals in the present ease, that there are unusual circumstances, equal to those in Erickson, though different, that give rise to a duty on the part of the mobile home park. These special circumstances include: the reports to the park manager by the children that they were being abused; the inability of the children to protect themselves against the ongoing criminal assault; the high level of protection against child sexual abuse afforded by state public policy, and the statutory provision that requires that there be a resident caretaker in each mobile home park, with an obligation to “be readily available at all times in case of emergency.” Minn.Stat. § 327.20, subd. 1(1) (1994).
Taking into account our standard for consideration of the evidence in the context of a summary judgment motion, that we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there can be no question that the park manager had direct knowledge that Whittemore was sexually abusing the children — they reported it to her themselves. That such abuse takes place in clandestine settings, often with an admonition to the children to remain silent, is well-known. Thus, with the exception of the abused and frightened children and the abuser himself, the park manager was the only person with the knowledge to protect the children.
It is this pattern of secrecy, typical of childhood sexual abuse, that is behind the requirement of state law that certain individuals with frequent contact with children are required to report to public authorities any abuse described to them by children. Minn. Stat. § 626.556, subd. 1 (1994). The policy favoring protection of children against such abuse is so strong that persons who violate the “mandatory reporting” requirement may face criminal charges.1 Minn.Stat. § 626.556, *711subd. 6 (1994). These provisions are legislative acknowledgment that children are, as to sexual abuse, deprived of the normal opportunities to protect themselves. And this “dependence” on others for protection and assistance is precisely the type of circumstances under which we have previously said a duty may arise. See Harper v. Herman, 499 N.W.2d 472 (Minn.1993); Erickson v. Curtis Inv. Co., 447 N.W.2d 165 (Minn.1989); Andrade v. Ellefson, 391 N.W.2d 836 (Minn.1986).
Further, I believe the existence of a duty to children living in the park is reinforced by the statutory obligation on the park owner to provide a resident manager. Minn.Stat. § 327.20, subd. 1(1) (1994), provides in part that “[a] responsible attendant or caretaker shall be in charge of every manufactured home park” and further that the caretaker “shall be readily available at all times in case of emergency.” (Emphasis added.) Is there anyone who would not consider the ongoing criminal sexual abuse of children an emergency to be dealt with expeditiously?
Finally, I suggest, as did the Erickson court, that the duty created by these special circumstances is a limited one. The parking lot owner in Erickson was not required to be the insurer or guarantor of the safety of its premises, nor is the owner of a mobile home park. But I conclude that, consistent with our earlier cases, an adult manager of a facility in which children live, mandated by statute to be responsive to emergencies, has a duty to take some reasonable action when children report they are being sexually molested by another resident of the facility. In this case, that action would likely have taken the form of a report to public authorities or to the children’s parents, or both. This is a modest mandate, consistent with our past reluctance to extend a duty of protection to business entities, but surely no more than we can expect from adults in whom children place their trust.
As Justice Simonett said, ultimately the question of whether a particular set of eir-cumstances should give rise to a duty is one of policy. Erickson 447 N.W.2d at 169. Given the strong public policy against child sexual abuse, I conclude these are precisely the kind of unusual circumstances which ought to take this case outside of the general rule.
Law and policy should follow common sense, and common sense in this instance suggests to me that an adult, in a position of authority and with knowledge of ongoing sexual abuse of children, has a duty to take some action. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.

. Contrary to the assertion of the majority, I do not premise the existence of a duty on the "man*711datory reporting” statute, Minn.Stat. § 626.556, subd. 3. Rather, I cite it only as evidence that Minnesota has a strong governmental policy in favor of protecting children from ongoing child abuse, and further that the policy implicates the responsibilities of children who come in frequent contact with children.