Catherine Hanrahan (Partner-Washington, DC) and Pernell Choren (Of Counsel-Washington, DC) obtained dismissal of an eleven-count complaint in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, on behalf of two entities affiliated with a local university’s student housing operations. The case arose from a horrific sexual assault that occurred on campus in August of 2022. The plaintiffs sued Wilson Elser’s clients, asserting a wide range of claims, including negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent retention, vicarious liability, respondeat superior, intentional infliction of emotional distress, failure to provide a safe workplace, negligence per se, breach of bond, loss of consortium, and joint enterprise liability – and sought $1.5 million in damages.

Catherine and Perry filed a comprehensive motion to dismiss, adopting and incorporating three prior motions to dismiss from a predecessor case and crafting detailed arguments demonstrating that the plaintiffs failed to plead any facts establishing that their clients, rather than the staffing company that employed both the victim and the assailant, had any responsibility for hiring, supervising, or controlling the perpetrator. They further established that the staffing company maintained "absolute and exclusive" authority over concierge personnel, and that the plaintiffs themselves had admitted in their prior lawsuit that the assailant was employed and paid by an entirely different entity. In a detailed nine-page order, the Court found Wilson Elser’s arguments persuasive and ruled that all the plaintiffs' claims were barred by collateral estoppel based on the court's prior dismissal order in the related action. Accordingly, the court granted the motion and dismissed all of the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice.