“Tailoring” the Close Connection Test for Sexual Abuse Victims: Vicarious Liability in the Court of Appeal

by Paula Giliker, Professor of Comparative Law, University of Bristol Law School.

The doctrine of vicarious liability renders a defendant strictly liable for the torts of another (X) where:

  • Stage One: the defendant is in a relationship with X which makes it fair and just for the law to make the defendant pay for the tortious conduct of X; and
  • Stage Two: there is a close connection between this relationship and X’s wrongdoing.

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