Notice requirements foil sexual abuse suit

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment dismissing a mother’s negligence claims against two cities, alleging employees at their public libraries witnessed a tutor’s alleged sexual abuse of her 9- and 12-year-old daughters but failed to intervene or report it. The family failed to serve notice on the cities within six months of when they knew or should have known of the facts forming the basis for their lawsuit. Any exception to the statutory notice requirements, “no matter how compelling the circumstances, lies solely within the authority of the Legislature, not the courts.”