C.T.

INTRODUCTION

C.T. sued the County of San Diego (County) for negligence based on sexual abuse she alleged she suffered 50 years ago while in foster care. She asserted the County was liable because her social worker negligently placed her with her abuser, failed to adequately monitor her abuser while she was in his care, failed to create and implement reasonable polices to protect foster children in the foster care system, and failed to conduct a reasonable investigation and remove her from the foster home within a reasonable time after she reported the sexual abuse. She also alleged the County violated a mandatory statutory duty because it failed to cross-report her allegations to law enforcement. The County obtained summary judgment. Because the alleged abuse took place so long ago, this case raises uniquely narrow issues. This is because much of the evidence about what happened no longer exists. The County destroyed relevant records in the ordinary course of business pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 826 and Government Code section 68152. And many of the issues we address are specific to the laws and legal landscape that were in effect in the mid-1970s. For…