Join John Lemon and Paul Starita, Partners at Singleton Schreiber, as they explain the emerging and often misunderstood area of vicarious liability for intentional torts. They will use their recent $11.16 million jury verdict and confidential settlement in a road-rage assault case (Pinedo v. Valley Farm Transport, Inc.) as a practical framework on how to prepare and win these cases. While many plaintiffs’ attorneys shy away from these claims due to their perceived difficulty, the doctrines at issue—including nondelegable duties, the Borello and ABC employment classification tests, scope of employment, and ratification—provide powerful tools for holding employers accountable for the intentional misconduct of their agents.

Lemon and Starita will unpack the novelty of applying these theories to intentional torts rather than negligence, and explain why this area of law is distinct, why it is frequently overlooked, and how those differences create unique challenges during trial, including jury-instruction issues. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of how these doctrines were successfully used in Pinedo and how they can be applied to similar cases to expand liability and strengthen plaintiff outcomes.

Attorneys will learn:

• The four key doctrines supporting intentional-tort vicarious liability: 
  
  • Nondelegable duties
  • Borello vs. ABC
  • Scope of employment
  • Ratification
• Why employer liability for intentional torts is novel and underutilized
• How these doctrines were applied within the Pinedo litigation
• Practical distinctions between intentional-tort liability and negligence, and why negligence is not the focus of this session
  

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