Legal Question in Securities Law in California

Re: Tort liability

In the first place, we need to talk in terms of being sued successfully, not just being sued. You can be sued for the tort of your offspring from their birth to your death, and your estate can be sued after that. What you really need to know is when and whether such a suit against you could be successful, rather than just an expensive nuisance requiring a defense.

First, one thing a lot of parents don't know is that children, even very young ones, can be sued successfully. There are illustrative cases of suits against four-year-olds for torts such as assault. Of course, there are special procedural rules for representation and trial, and a judgment against a truly young child is likely to come out of the parents' pocket eventually.

In matters such as negligence, the law recognizes that there is an "adult standard" and a "child standard" of conduct; children are not expected to behave as competently and responsibly as adults where negligence is the gist of the tort action. Note this is not usually the case with intentional torts like assault.

Parents tend to be made responsible for their kids' torts under a "negligent parenting" theory. This doesn't have a whole lot to do with the age of the child, but there can be a connection. The concept is that if children are allowed to get into trouble, maybe that was because the parent was negligent in being watchful, in controlling the behavior, or in warning the victim.

There is a textbook case in which a young child bit the dentist. The dentist was successful in suing the mother who accompanied the little monster to the dentist's office because the kid had told mom beforehand that he was going to bite at the first opportunity, and the mother failed to warn. Of course, the dentist could have, and perhaps did, sue the kid as well.

Now, the heading "Securities" is supposed to deal with investment securities, like stocks and bonds and commodities futures, not torts of minors. If you need a further, more expert answer, try re-asking under a torts-type heading. This is not my area, I'm answering based on recollections from law school.