State Dept. of State Hospitals v. Super. Ct.

BACKGROUND

A.

The Government Claims Act (§ 810 et seq.; the Act) sets out a comprehensive scheme of liability and immunity statutes that govern actions against public entities. (State Dept. of State Hospitals v. Superior Court (2015) 61 Cal.4th 339, 348 (Dept. of State Hospitals); County of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 1263, 1267.) Under the Act, a public entity is not liable for injury except as otherwise provided by statute. (§ 815, subd. (a); Dept. of State Hospitals, supra, at p. 348.) Among the liability statutes, section 815.2, subdivision (a), provides that a public entity may be vicariously liable for injury caused by an act or omission of its employees acting within the scope of their employment. However, even if a public entity may be sued under a liability statute, the Act also includes immunity provisions that prevail in specified circumstances. (Dept. of State Hospitals, supra, at p. 348.)

B.

Doe alleges that, when she was a minor and ward of the state confined at Napa State Hospital, she was sexually assaulted by a Department counselor between 1997 and 1999. In particular, Doe alleges that the counselor transported her and other female…