Beul v. Asse International, Inc.

233 F.3d 441 (7th Cir. 2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D operates an international student exchange program. For a fee of $2,000, it placed Kristin (P), a 16-year-old German girl who wanted to spend a year in the United States, with the Bruce family of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The family, which consisted of Richard Bruce, age 40, his wife, and their 13-year-old daughter, had been selected by Marianne Breber, D's Area Representative in the part of the state that includes Fort Atkinson. Breber is described as a 'volunteer,' not an employee; the only payment she receives from D is reimbursement of her expenses. The contract between D and P's parents is the exclusive source of D's legal duties to P. As the sponsor of a foreign exchange student, D was subject to regulations of the United States Information Agency that require sponsors to train their agents, 'monitor the progress and welfare of the exchange visit,' and require a 'regular schedule of personal contact with the student and host family.' There is no argument that the regulations create a private federal right of suit that would allow Ps to sue D under the federal-question jurisdiction of the federal courts. P was met at the airport by Richard Bruce and his daughter. Breber did not go to the airport to meet Kristin. She did call the Bruce home a few times and spoke briefly with P once or twice, but she made no effort to make sure that P was alone when they spoke. She would ask in these calls how P was doing and P would reply that everything was fine. Breber did not talk to Mrs. Bruce, who would have told her that she was concerned that her husband seemed to be developing an inappropriate relationship with P. On November 17, 1995, Richard Bruce, who weighed almost 300 pounds and who was alone at home at the time except for P, came into the loft area in which she slept and raped her. Bruce frequently would call the school that P was attending and report her ill. Then, with Mrs. Bruce off at work and the Bruce's daughter at school, Bruce would have sex with P. P had been absent 27 days from school. Bruce also brandished a gun and told P that he would kill himself if she told anyone what they were doing together. In February, Mrs. Bruce told Breber that she and her husband were getting divorced, and Breber forthwith found another host family to take in P. P didn't want to leave the Bruce home, but on February 22 Breber arrived there with a sheriff's deputy to remove P. The deputy asked P in the presence of Richard Bruce and his daughter whether there was any inappropriate sexual activity between Richard and P, and P answered 'no.' Breber, upon calling the school then learned for the first time of P's many absences. P had decided that she was in love with Bruce and considered herself engaged to him. Mrs. Bruce discovered some of P's love letters and alerted the authorities. A sheriff's deputy interviewed Bruce. The next day Bruce, who had committed a misdemeanor by having sex with a 16-year-old, killed himself, leaving a note expressing fear of jail. It is undisputed that the events culminating in Bruce's suicide inflicted serious psychological harm on P. P got the verdict and D appealed.