Ruling expands liability on HIV
Sacramento Bee
July 4, 2006

One sexual partner may be able to sue another for passing on the AIDS virus if the infected partner "had reason to know" that he or she was carrying the disease, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.

State laws already make it a crime to transmit the disease knowingly.

The court's 4-3 decision means some people who do so without knowing they're infected may now be held liable for monetary damages.

And, despite California laws protecting the privacy of people infected with HIV, they may be forced to reveal extensive medical data and information about their sexual histories, though not the identities of other sexual partners.

Writing for the court's majority, Justice Marvin Baxter cited society's "overriding policy of preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases."

The ruling came in the case of a married couple and might not apply to a suit based on a casual sexual encounter.

Judges have traditionally tried to balance privacy and the need to compensate injured individuals, said Lawrence C. Levine, who teaches civil liability law at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.

Monday's decision, he said, marks "a reluctant though unmistakable step toward increased judicial intervention in private sexual conduct."…