Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

In my guess it may be an uphill battle, unless possibly you can prove gross negligence or something substantial more than just the fact this (unfortunate) incident happened. E.g. there were many other assaults or attacks in the same area and nothing was done to remedy a known danger.

I'd say consult with a few civil litigation attorneys to get different opinions. I don't handle civil also (only criminal); maybe some attorneys on here do handle civil cases, and have more information. Good luck!

Maybe I am missing something here. You want to sue the college administrator because your boyfriend assaulted you and is facing criminal charges? Any and all claims would be against your boyfriend (hopefully ex-boyfriend) and not against the school or its administrators. What did the school do wrong?

And how is it their fault that YOUR BOYFRIEND that YOU CHOSE, assaulted you?

I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal. But unless there are some very unusual facts you haven't told us about, your college is not liable.

Individuals and entities (such as your college) generally are not liable for the actions of others, especially when those actions are intentional. There are exceptions to this rule, but I don't see how any of them would apply here.

Employers are liable for the conduct of their employees while acting in the course and scope of their duties. You haven't told us that your boyfriend was employed by your college, much less that he was doing his job when he assaulted you. Students are a college's customers, not its employees, so colleges are generally not liable for their students' conduct.

That he lived in a dorm doesn't help you either, since landlords are not liable for the conduct of their tenants. This is true even when the landlord is the college that the wrongdoer attends.

There may be other reasons why the college would be liable, but they are uncommon. For example, if your boyfriend had a history of similar conduct *and* if the college knew about it *and* if there was reason to think he might attack you or other students, then you might have a viable case against it. That seems unlikely, but such things do happen.

If you were seriously harmed and need compensation for your injuries, your boyfriend is the one you will have to sue. (He could be ordered to pay you restitution if he is convicted, but you should not count on that.) If he has assets, suing him may make good sense. And if all you told his lawyer is that you don't want his career to suffer, then your conversation did not waive any of your rights.

I would need to know more about the facts before I could evaluate your case. At this point, though, it looks like you should sue your boyfriend and not your college.

Finally, I agree with Mr. Kane that this man should be your ex-boyfriend. Leave him if you haven't already. The law has nothing to say about your relationship, but common sense says that he is not someone you should be in a close relationship with.