On the Elements of Equitable Estoppel

J.P. v. Carlsbad Unified School District, No. D062912 (D4d1 Dec. 12, 2014)

This is a case against a school for failing to stop one of its teachers from sexually abusing several students. During the investigation of the incident, school officials and the DA told the victim and her family that they shouldn’t talk to anyone concerning the incident, lest it endanger the criminal prosecution of the teacher. The parents scrupulously followed that advice, which—arguably as the school sees it—led to them never hiring a lawyer and thus blowing their deadline to file a Government Code claim against the school.