Juarez

I.

Introduction

In 1996 appellant Mario R. Juarez (Juarez) sued respondents Boy Scouts of America, Inc. (BSA) and the San Francisco Bay Area Council (BAC) (collectively, the Scouts), alleging that in 1990 when he was a member of Boy Scout Troop 255 (Troop 255), he was sexually molested by Jorge Francisco Paz (Paz), a scoutmaster of the troop. Juarez also sued Mary Help of Christians Church, a church of the Diocese of Oakland (the Church) where Troop 255 held its meetings. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Scouts and the Church following the imposition of evidentiary sanctions conclusively establishing that no information was available to the Scouts or the Church that would cause any of them to suspect Paz had a propensity to molest children prior to the time he was accused of molesting Juarez.

Juarez appeals from the judgment dismissing his action, claiming the imposition of evidentiary sanctions was an abuse of discretion. Juarez also challenges the court’s issuance of a protective order preventing discovery of certain confidential records maintained by the Scouts. As his final contention, Juarez maintains that even if the trial court’s…