Catholic church vicariously liable

The Portsmouth Diocese is legally responsible for child abuse committed by one of its priests, the Court of Appeal has held.

In JGE v the Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust [2012] EWCA Civ 938, the court held by a 2–1 majority that vicarious liability can arise where a relationship is “akin to employment”.

JGE claimed she was sexually abused by a Catholic priest, Father Baldwin, while she was a young child in a home run by the Diocese.

In November, the High Court held the church was responsible for the misconduct of its clergy. The church appealed on the ground it could not be held liable since there was no formal employment relationship.

Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Davis said “the relationship between the bishop and Father Baldwin…was sufficiently akin to that of employment”.

Tracey Emmott, partner at Emmott Snell, who represented JGE, says: “The wider implications of this judgment are significant, such that it is now settled that there no longer has to be a formal employment relationship for legal responsibility to attach to one party for the wrongdoings of another.

“It may be enough if there is a sufficient degree of control by one party over the other, that the wrongdoer was carrying out the purposes or aims of the other, and if it is fair, just and reasonable. All these factors were found to be present in the relationship between a bishop and a priest.”