A. R. ANTHONY & SONS, a partnership, and A. R. ANTHONY, Plaintiffs, v. ALL-STATE INVESTIGATION SECURITY AGENCY, INC., JOHN CLIFFORD DAVIS and BRANDYWINE SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendants., 1983 Del. Super. LEXIS 647

Summary

The security company entered into a contract with the school district to guard a bus depot and the equipment contained therein. The depot was leased by the school district from the property owner. While one of the security company's employees was on duty guarding the bus depot, he set fire to one of the buildings. The property owner suffered damage and sued under the theories of negligent hiring, respondeat superior, and strict liability. Summary judgment was granted in part and denied in part. The court found that the present record presented material issues of fact surrounding the question of the care taken by the security company to investigate its prospective hire; therefore, summary judgment was denied as to the property owner's claim of negligent hiring. However, summary judgment on the theory of respondent superior was granted in favor of the security company because the uncontroverted facts indicated that the employee was not within the scope of his employment during the arson....