Hart v. Parker, 2019 Del. Super. LEXIS 538 (Del. Super. Ct. Oct. 29, 2019)

Delaware law does not recognize general duty of a child to care for an aging parent.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit stemming from an auto accident, suing not only the other driver, but also his adult children. The adult children filed a motion to dismiss, arguing they owed no duty of care to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs pointed to the police report, indicating that the defendant-driver was lost at the time of the accident, could not remember what happened, was the subject of a missing person's report, and possibly had dementia. From this, the plaintiffs argued the adult children owed a duty of care per Restatement (Second) of Torts § 319 and § 324A. However, the court found that the plaintiffs failed to properly plead a claim for negligence because their complaint did not establish how the defendants undertook to care for the defendant-driver or took charge of him. The plaintiffs essentially alleged that the defendants breached a duty by failing to "supervise and monitor" the driver. The court granted the motion to dismiss, holding there is no general duty of a child to care for his or her aging parent.

 

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