Demurrer of Santa Paula Unified School District to the first six causes of action of the complaint
2026CUPP064804: BENJAMIN LEXUS vs SANTA PAULA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, A PUBLIC ENTITY 07/14/2026 in Department 43 Demurrer
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Motion: Demurrer of Santa Paula Unified School District to the first six causes of action of the complaint
Tentative Ruling: The court intends to sustain the demurrer of Santa Paula Unified School District (District) to the first six causes of action of the complaint (1- negligence; 2- negligent hiring, supervision and retention; 3- negligent failure to warn, train or educate; 4- negligent supervision of a minor; 5- NIED; 6- breach of mandatory duty) with leave to amend. Plaintiffs allegations that District personnel should have known that there was a foreseeable risk that Defendant Engle was sexually abusing Plaintiff are pled with insufficient factual detail. (Compare Roe v. Hesperia Unified School District (2022) 85 Cal.App.5th 13
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Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Engle was openly touchy and handsy with students in front of District personnel. (Compl. at ¶48). Plaintiff does not allege that Defendants creation of games to incentivize students to show him their genitals occurred in the presence of or were reasonably known to District personnel. (Compl. at ¶37). Plaintiff alleges that Engle provided students with
2026CUPP064804: BENJAMIN LEXUS vs SANTA PAULA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, A PUBLIC ENTITY
candy and invited students over to his house to swim in front of DISTRICT administrators, teachers, staff, and other students. (Compl. at ¶49). This allegation is ambiguous as to whether the District were present for the invitation or present for the pool parties. If the latter, by inference, District would have been able to supervise the pool and would have known (or could have known) if Defendant Engle was engaged in wrongdoing with Plaintiff (or other students). Plaintiff does not allege that District insufficiently supervised such parties. If no mandated reporters had knowledge or reasonable suspicion of the alleged abuse of plaintiff, then there is no violation of CANRA. Reporting a teacher for inviting students to a pool party or giving them candy for completing school assignments is not reasonable without allegation of other untoward behavior.
Although Plaintiff has pled a special relationship between the District and Plaintiff, the District would not breach any negligence related duty (hiring, supervision, retention, training, or supervision of Plaintiff himself) if the District had no reason to know of the foreseeable risk of Defendant Engles conduct. Nor did they have a mandatory duty to report suspected child abuse.
Plaintiff is granted leave to amend the complaint on or before August 1, 2026.
Moving party is ordered to serve notice of the Courts ruling.
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