Torts Keyed to Prosser
Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Mr. Poddar was a patient of Dr. Lawrence Moore (Dr. Moore), at Cowell Memorial Hospital of the University of California. Dr. Moore was one of the four Defendants. During one of their sessions, Mr. Poddar informed Dr. Moore that he intended to kill Tatiana because she turned down his romantic advances. Dr. Moore had the campus police detain Mr. Poddar, but he was released shortly thereafter. Despite a disagreement between the psychiatrists at the hospital, no further action was taken to detain Mr. Poddar. Two months later, Mr. Poddar shot and repeatedly stabbed Tatiana, killing her. The Plaintiffs brought a wrongful death suit against the Defendants who failed to detain Mr. Poddar. The court rejected the contention that Defendants could be liable for this inaction because California Government Code Section 856 provided tort immunity with regard to these decisions. Plaintiffs also claimed Defendants should be liable for Tatiana’s death because they failed to warn her or them abo ut Mr. Poddar’s threat.
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