Rice

Plaintiffs Jasper Rice and Jennifer Asbury appeal from a judgment dismissing their complaint for negligence in which they alleged that defendants Center Point, Inc. (Center Point), and Humboldt Recovery Center, Inc. (HRC), were liable for the criminal behavior of four residents who injured plaintiffs after escaping from defendants’ drug rehabilitation program. The trial court granted defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that defendants did not owe plaintiffs a legal duty of care to control the criminal behavior of the residents of their treatment facility. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural History

Plaintiffs filed a complaint against defendants alleging a single cause of action for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The complaint alleges that on July 23, 2004, plaintiffs were attacked, stabbed and seriously injured by four California Department of Corrections (CDC) inmates who had been placed in and escaped from a nearby residential substance abuse treatment facility operated by HRC. The facility, which was licensed by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP), provides “a non-hospital 24-hour residential…