Nicholas W. Sterry v. Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC), and Correctional Officer ...

Citations

• 8 N.W.3d 224

Syllabus

1. For a state employer to be held vicariously liable for an employee's intentional tort under the Minnesota State Tort Claims Act, Minnesota Statutes section 3.736 (2022), the tort must: (1) be related to the duties of the employee; and (2) occur within work-related limits of time and place—consistent with the common law standard under which the employer, if a private person, would be vicariously liability. 2. The district court erred when dismissing a complaint against the Minnesota Department of Corrections for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because the facts alleged in the complaint—including a state employee's perpetration of a sexual assault and sexual harassment—could allow a jury to find that the state employee was acting within the scope of office or employment under circumstances where the Department would be liable under the common law for vicarious liability. Affirmed.