## Facts

- Flora Ellis alleged she was in the D’Angelo home in a caretaker/household role.
- Salvatore D’Angelo, age four, allegedly pushed Ellis violently to the floor, causing serious injuries, including fractures to both arms and wrists.
- Ellis sued the child for (1) battery, alleging willful and violent physical contact, and (2) negligence, alleging negligent shoving and pushing.
- Ellis sued the parents for negligence, alleging they knew the child had a habit of violently attacking others and failed to warn her, and that this failure proximately caused her injuries.
- The trial court sustained a general demurrer to the first amended complaint without leave to amend and entered judgment for all defendants.

## Issues

1. Whether allegations that a four-year-old intentionally pushed an adult to the floor state a cause of action for battery under California law, including Civil Code § 41.
2. Whether a four-year-old can be held civilly liable for negligence as a matter of law.
3. Whether parents may be directly liable in negligence for failing to warn an exposed caretaker/invitee of their child’s known violent propensities.

## Decision

- The judgment of dismissal was reversed as to the battery claim against the child.
- The dismissal was affirmed as to the negligence claim against the child.
- The dismissal was reversed as to the negligence claim against the parents for failure to warn.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings on the surviving claims.

## Legal Principles

- Under Cal. Civ. Code § 41, a minor is civilly liable for a “wrong” and may owe compensatory damages even if the minor lacked capacity to know the act was wrongful; exemplary damages require capacity to know wrongfulness.
- Battery requires an intentional act resulting in harmful or offensive contact; liability does not depend on the actor’s ability to make a moral judgment about wrongfulness.
- Negligence presupposes capacity to appreciate risk and conform conduct to a standard of care; a child of very tender years (here, age four) may be deemed incapable of negligence as a matter of law.
- Parents are not automatically liable for a child’s torts, but may be directly liable for their own negligence when they know of a child’s dangerous propensities and fail to use reasonable care (including warning) to protect foreseeable victims.

## Conclusion

The court held that a four-year-old could be sued for battery based on intentional physical contact under Civil Code § 41, but was too young to be liable for negligence; it also held that the parents plausibly alleged direct negligence for failing to warn a foreseeable victim of their child’s known violent habits, requiring reversal of the demurrer on those claims.


Ellis v. D'Angelo, 116 Cal. App. 2d 310, 253 P.2d 675 (Cal. Ct. App. 1953)