Brewer v. Murray
Kentucky Court of Appeals
292 S.W.3d 318 (Ky. Ct. App. 2009)
Thirteen-year-old Ashley Brewer (plaintiff) was invited to stay overnight at Jackson's (defendant) house under rules Jackson agreed to, including constant adult supervision and no alcohol; Jackson nonetheless left for her lake house that night without telling Brewer's parents, leaving the girls unsupervised. The girls invited older boys over and got drunk, and 19-year-old Jerry Murray had sex with Brewer, resulting in his criminal conviction for statutory rape. When Brewer turned 18, she sued Murray and Jackson civilly; the trial court granted Jackson summary judgment, finding she owed Brewer no duty, and Brewer appealed.
Whether, under the reasonable-person standard, a person with temporary custody of a minor is charged with knowing the general tendency of unsupervised teenagers to act recklessly.