Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Re: minor sets school on fire

First, of course, the question "can they sue?" is entirely different from "can they WIN?" You can be sued even if the plaintiff has 0 chance of winning. The real question, of course, is can they WIN.

The biggest factor why I do not "they" (the school) can win is that THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SUPERVISING THE 13 YEAR OLD WHILE HE WAS AT SCHOOL.

The theory under which a parent might be sued would most likely involve, or be related to, the parents' negligent failure to supervise the child. However, in this case, the child was not in the parents' supervision, but was in the school's supervision. So any negligence would be the school's, not the parents.

Obviously the parents did not set fire to the bathroom. So suing the parents would have to be as a result of the parents' failure to supervise the child But the child was at school at the time, not under the parents' control,

Similarly, there is also a concept called contributory negligence in Virginia. So if the school is partly negligent, they get nothing in a lawsuit.

Now, I am assuming that the 13 year old ACCIDENTALLY set the bathroom on fire. Even if they want to claim it was intentional, unless the 13 year old announced his plans, it would be very hard for them to prove it was intentional.

Does this guarantee they won't win? No. There are enough variables in any lawsuit or situation to produce unexpected results. You have given only limited facts here. So perhaps they could sue and win. But I would not expect it to turn out that way, primarily because the school was supposed to be supervising the children who are at school under their care.

NOW.... Can they take his college savings? Yes, if the fund is structured in such a way (such as for taxes) that the 13 year old OWNS the money NOW -- not in the future upon going to college. If it is money that really belongs to the parents, but has just been set aside for a purpose, then see above.