Buono v. Scalia
Supreme Court of New Jersey
843 A.2d 1120 (N.J. 2004)
At a crowded neighborhood block party, five-year-old Michael Scalia rode a bicycle he'd only recently learned to ride while his father Alphonse Scalia (defendants) watched from five to eight feet away, among many other adults also monitoring children; Michael collided with 16-month-old Kathryn Buono, injuring her, despite Alphonse shouting a warning just before the collision, and Michael's mother Lisa wasn't present at all. Kathryn's father, Vincent Buono (plaintiff), sued the Scalias for negligent supervision; the trial court ruled for the Scalias based on parental immunity, and the Appellate Division affirmed.
Whether the doctrine of parental immunity bars a third party's negligence claim against a parent for a child's supervision when the parent's conduct amounted, at most, to ordinary negligence rather than willful or wanton misconduct.