Singer v. Marx
144 Cal. App. 2d 637, 301 P.2d 440, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1774 (1956)
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Rule of Law:
A parent may be held liable for their own negligence if they have knowledge of their child's specific dangerous propensity and fail to exercise reasonable control to prevent foreseeable harm to third parties. Additionally, under the doctrine of transferred intent, a minor who intends to commit a battery against one person but unintentionally harms another is liable to the person harmed.
Facts:
- Nine-year-old Tim Marx had a history of throwing rocks and other objects at people and property.
- A neighbor, Mrs. James, informed Tim's mother, Marion Marx, that Tim repeatedly threw rocks at her and her mother-in-law.
- Tim's school principal also informed Marion Marx that Tim had thrown clods of dirt at her car.
- Marion Marx's disciplinary measures, which included making Tim write lines, were ineffective as the behavior continued.
- On September 13, 1953, Tim was with eight-year-old Denise Singer and eight-year-old Barbara Corcoran.
- Tim told Denise to "watch Barbie," then raised his arm and threw a rock in Barbara's general direction.
- The rock struck Denise in the eye, causing injury.
- There was no evidence presented that Tim's father, Zeppo Marx, had personal knowledge of Tim's rock-throwing propensity.
Procedural Posture:
- Denise Singer, a minor, and her father sued Tim Marx, a minor, and his parents, Marion and Zeppo Marx, in a California trial court.
- The complaint alleged negligence and battery against Tim and negligent supervision against his parents.
- At the close of the plaintiffs' case at trial, the judge granted the defendants' motion for a nonsuit, dismissing the case against all defendants.
- The plaintiffs appealed the judgment of nonsuit to the California Court of Appeal.
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Issue:
Can a parent be held liable for their own negligence when they have knowledge of their child's specific dangerous propensity to throw objects at people but fail to take effective steps to control that behavior, resulting in injury to another?
Opinions:
Majority - Ashburn, J.
Yes. A parent can be held liable for their own negligence if they had notice of their child's dangerous proclivities and failed to administer effective discipline to control them. While parents are not vicariously liable for their child's torts, they have a duty to exercise reasonable control over a child known to possess dangerous tendencies. The evidence showed that Tim's mother, Marion Marx, was notified by both a neighbor and a school principal about Tim's habit of throwing objects at people and property. The fact that the punishments administered were ineffective gives rise to a reasonable inference that she failed to exercise proper control. This creates a question of fact for a jury to decide whether her actions constituted negligence. Conversely, there was no evidence that the father, Zeppo Marx, had personal knowledge of this specific propensity, so no prima facie case could be made against him. The case against the child, Tim, should also proceed to a jury because a minor can be found liable for both negligence (judged by the standard of a child of like age and experience) and battery, for which the doctrine of transferred intent applies if he intended to throw at Barbara but hit Denise.
Analysis:
This case solidifies the principle of direct parental liability for negligent supervision, distinguishing it from vicarious liability. It establishes that a parent's duty to control their child is triggered by knowledge of specific dangerous habits, not just general misbehavior. The ruling empowers juries to assess the reasonableness and effectiveness of parental discipline in determining whether a parent breached their duty of care. This precedent places a significant responsibility on parents to take affirmative and effective steps to curb known dangerous behaviors in their children that could foreseeably harm others.
