Ruling gives immunity to some stepparents

OLYMPIA – Stepparents can be shielded from lawsuits over negligent child supervision, but only if they’re taking on the same responsibilities as a lawful parent, the state Supreme Court said Thursday.

The court’s 6-3 ruling broadens a legal doctrine known as parental immunity, which holds that parents usually can’t be sued for injuries to their child unless the parent is recklessly or willfully negligent.

Simply being married to a child’s parent isn’t enough to qualify for immunity – stepparents can only be protected from civil suits if they’re acting like a full-fledged mother or father, the court said.

“We agree with those courts that find no principled distinction between a legal parent and a stepparent who assumes all the obligations and exercises all the responsibilities of parenthood,” Justice Barbara Madsen wrote for the court.

To determine whether a stepparent qualifies for immunity, courts should weigh the evidence about a stepparent and child’s relationship, the Supreme Court said.

The trial court and state Court of Appeals wanted to avoid such fact-finding inquiries. Trying to sort out the extent of a stepparent’s relationship, the appeals court said, could lead to “putting hearsay and finger-pointing on the main stage in circumstances where hindsight clouds rather than illuminates.”

But the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling those difficult questions about the degree of parental responsibility must be weighed “to ensure the application of parental immunity does not unjustly deprive a child of the right to seek legal redress.”