AE Ex Rel. Hernandez v. County of Tulare

Plaintiff-Appellant AE, a minor, was sexually assaulted by his seventeen-year-old foster brother (Foster Brother) while living in a foster family home in Tulare County, California. AE contends that the County of Tulare (County) and its employee social workers (collectively, Defendants), failed to intervene prior to his sexual assault, despite their knowledge of the escalating threats and violence against him. AE brought a federal civil rights claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state negligence claims against Defendants. AE appeals the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of all claims against the County. We conclude that the district court abused its discretion in dismissing AE’s § 1988 and derivative liability claims without leave to amend. Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s decision and vacate the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Allegations of the First Amended Complaint

The First Amended Complaint tells a tragic story of escalating threats and violence against AE, a nine-year-old boy, at the hands of his Foster Brother. In September, 2008, AE was removed from his mother’s custody, transferred to a foster family agency, and ultimately placed…