Lawsuits Against Nonprofit Organizations: Who Can Be Sued and For What
A nonprofit organization may be formed for socially beneficial purposes, such as for charity, religion, science, or community development. Many nonprofits in Ohio are formed as corporations run by a board of directors, which has a lot of discretion in the business decisions of the corporation. At times, a nonprofit organization or its agents may act in a manner that you believe gives rise to a lawsuit.
Historically, charitable nonprofit organizations would be immune from liability because of their charitable purposes and their benefit to society as a whole, but in 1984, the Ohio Supreme Court abolished this doctrine of charitable immunity. So, nonprofit and charitable organizations are liable for causing personal injuries, or torts, to the same extent as individuals and corporations. Since corporate law is complex, reach out to an experienced lawyer at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices for help with lawsuits against non-profit organizations and understanding who can be sued and for what.
We serve plaintiffs in northwest Ohio up to Michigan. Contact us for a free consultation to determine who may be sued and how to maximize the recovery for the harm you or a loved one has suffered.
How Do Non-Profits Function When It Comes to Liability?
When a director is performing their duties as an agent for their nonprofit corporation, they must act “in good faith, in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances” (Ohio Revised Code § 1702.30(B)).
Nonprofit corporations also have shareholders and officers. Individuals prefer to form corporations because they provide liability protection from lawsuits. Meaning that, generally, if someone sues a nonprofit corporation, they will not be able to collect against the individual members of the corporation and will only be able to recover damages from the nonprofit corporation itself and its assets. This is commonly referred to as a “corporate shield”, shielding the shareholders, directors, and officers from personal liability.
Suing For Negligence
In some circumstances, the nonprofit organization and its agents may be sued for their negligent actions or intentional harm they caused. Negligence is “the failure to behave with the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same circumstances.” Negligence is based on an individual’s actions or their failure to act when they have a duty to do so. An individual is negligent if they have a legal duty that they fail to act on, another individual is harmed, and the failure to uphold the legal duty is the proximate cause and the cause-in-fact of harm to the injured person. A lawyer at one of Charles E. Boyk’s conveniently located offices will review your situation to determine whether the nonprofit organization or its agent(s) were negligent.
Navigating The Complications of the Corporate Shield
As previously stated, the members, directors, and officers of a corporation are generally not personally liable since they are protected by the “corporate shield.” (R.C. § 1702.55(A)). A director or agent will be found to have violated their duties and may be personally liable for their acts or omissions if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the conduct was “undertaken with deliberate intent to cause injury to the corporation or undertaken with a reckless disregard for the best interests of the corporation.” (R.C. § 1702.30(E)). Also, they may be liable when there is clear and convincing evidence that the director violated their duties by acting in bad faith and against the interests of the corporation.
When any agent directly or personally participates in negligent acts or omissions or engages in intentional torts against another, they may be personally liable. The nonprofit organization may be liable for its negligent acts or omissions and for engaging in intentional harm under the doctrine of respondeat superior or vicarious liability.
An attorney and their team will research and analyze the circumstances of your lawsuit to determine whether the individual was an agent at the time of the incident, whether they were acting within the scope of their employment, and whether the agent’s actions were to the benefit of the nonprofit organization. If the lawyer determines there are enough facts to support all three, they may rely on respondeat superior as an additional cause of action or means of recovery for your claim.
How Does Liability of Volunteers Work?
The liability laws applicable to volunteers performing services for a nonprofit or charitable organization without compensation are different than the above-discussed liability of agents or the corporation itself. Even though the Ohio Supreme Court has abolished the charitable immunity doctrine, volunteers of these nonprofit or charitable organizations have special protections from personal liability in tort actions. Generally, volunteers are not liable “in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that arises from the actions or omissions of any of the officers, employees, trustees, or other volunteers of the charitable organization for which the volunteer performs services.” (R.C. § 2305.38(B)). The volunteer may be personally liable if:
- They have prior knowledge of an act or omission of the nonprofit organization’s agent or other volunteer and “the volunteer authorizes, approves, or otherwise actively participates in that action or omission.” (R.C. § 2305.38(B)(1)).
- They have full knowledge of a completed act or omission of the nonprofit organization’s agent or other volunteer, and the volunteer ratifies the act or omission. (R.C. § 2305.38(B)(2)).
- The volunteer engages in an action or omission that “constitutes willful or wanton misconduct or intentionally tortious conduct” in connection with the service performed on behalf of the nonprofit or charitable organization. (R.C. § 2305.38(C)(2)).
Our team could work with you to determine if a volunteer who harmed you can hold liability for their actions in relation to their work at the nonprofit organization.
Examples of Nonprofit Lawsuits We Have Worked On
Recently, Charles E. Boyk Law Offices has worked with personal injury victims and their families to file suits against nonprofit organizations. These organizations include:
- Erie Shores Council, Inc.
- Boy Scouts of America
- The Wood County Agricultural Society
- The Wood County Fair Foundation
In these cases, the attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices allege that the nonprofit organizations engaged in negligent actions, that their agents or employees were negligent and/or intentionally harmed the plaintiff, and that the nonprofit organizations are liable for the negligent acts or omissions and the harmful intentional conduct through the doctrine of respondeat superior. Depending on the circumstances of your case, your attorney will assess which claims can be brought and who they can be brought against in a civil action to hold all responsible parties accountable for their harmful actions and seek maximum recovery for the harm you or a loved one has suffered.
Contact us today for help with seeking justice and compensation!
Boy Scouts of America
The Russell Family has sued Boy Scouts of America, the pack leader, who is the organization’s agent, and another alleged agent of the organization, because their 5-year-old son was severely beaten by a fellow Cub Scout and his thighbone was fractured during a Cub Scout Meeting.
During the December 2025 meeting, Cub Scout Pack 422 was not separated by age groups and had an indoor snowball fight at First Christian Church. The Cub Scout who attacked the five-year-old plaintiff was older than the plaintiff and apparently had a known history of failing to keep his hands to himself and physically attacking the plaintiff. He and his father are also named as defendants in this action.
At the time of the attack during the playful snowball fight, the pack leader was outside vaping, leaving only two pack leaders to monitor activities. The attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices allege that the agents of Boy Scouts of America engaged in negligent supervision, resulting in the fellow cub scout intentionally harming the five-year-old plaintiff by punching him in the head, kicking him in the stomach, knocking him over, and stomping on the plaintiff’s leg.
At five years old, the plaintiff has endured intense trauma, emergency surgery, and is unable to attend school due to resulting mobility impairments. Because these agents allegedly engaged in negligent conduct, the Boy Scouts of America organization may be held vicariously liable; this provides plaintiffs with another avenue to recover for the harm they suffered. The organization was also allegedly negligent itself, because they breached their duties, including but not limited to:
- Protecting the Cub Scouts from foreseeable harm
- Properly training their employees
- Implementing protective measures to prevent attacks by the fellow Cub Scout who had previously attacked the five-year-old plaintiff.
Boy Scouts of America’s alleged negligence also resulted in the Russell parents suffering severe emotional distress. Charles E. Boyk Esq. and the experienced attorneys at his law offices work with their teams and clients to seek recovery from all liable parties. The dedication, compassion, and skill level of the attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices have been recognized for the third year in a row by Toledo City Paper, awarding the office the “Best Attorney” award.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a nonprofit organization or its agents or employees, contact Charles E. Boyk Law Offices for a free consultation.
The Wood County Agricultural Society and Fair Foundation
In the Wood County Court of Common Pleas, a complaint has been filed on behalf of a minor and his family against the Wood County Agricultural Society, the Wood County Fair Foundation, and Former Fair Board President Brock Abke. Brock Abke, a 31-year-old Perrysburg man who has been active within the Wood County Fair for over 10 years, has been criminally indicted on 13 counts, most of which are felonies, including:
- Pandering obscenity involving a minor;
- Importuning for allegedly soliciting sex from a 15-year-old; and
- Contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
While Brock Abke’s criminal case is ongoing, he is on strict house arrest with GPS monitoring, and Charles E. Boyk Law Offices has filed this civil complaint on behalf of the minor victim and his family. The complaint alleges that in May 2023, the minor plaintiff, who had been involved in 4H and fair activities for years, met Brock Abke, who began grooming the minor plaintiff shortly after.
Throughout his involvement with these nonprofit organizations, Abke helped manage and organize the junior fair and 4H at the Wood County Fair, served as a board member, and held the office of the President from 2017 to 2018. As recently as 2025, Brock Abke was the Wood County Fair Board’s secretary. From the time of meeting the minor plaintiff until May 2025, Brock Abke allegedly used his status within the fair to groom the plaintiff.
Brock Abke allegedly added the minor as a friend on Snapchat (a social media app where videos, photos, and messages are only available to the parties to the conversation for a limited time period, typically 24 hours or less, unless saved by one of the parties), bought the minor vapes, offered the minor alcohol at a party, sent the minor money, spoke sexually to the minor on Snapchat, and sent the minor over 40 sexually explicit photos on Snapchat. Overall, the complaint alleges that Brett Abke engaged in behavior that was clearly inappropriate to direct towards a minor child who trusted him and is over 10 years younger than him.
The Wood County Agricultural Society and the Wood County Fair Foundation are alleged to have been negligent when hiring, training, and supervising Brock Abke, partially due to his alleged history of inappropriate relations and grooming of minor boys. The complaint further argues that Brock Abke had previously lost employment due to this inappropriate conduct with minors, yet the nonprofit organizations continued to allow him to be in a position of trust and close contact with minors, including junior 4H clubs and youth camping events.
As a result of the nonprofit organizations’ alleged negligence concerning Brock Abke, the minor plaintiff has suffered severe, long-lasting psychological damage and emotional distress. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Brock Abke himself intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the minor plaintiff with his extreme, outrageous conduct that is utterly intolerable by civilized communities by engaging in the above-discussed activities.
Again, the attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices allege that the nonprofit organizations are vicariously liable for Brock Abke’s extreme and outrageous conduct performed in the scope and course of his agency and representation of the organizations. In their sensitive and severe case, the family trusted the attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices to seek justice and recovery for the intense harm and distress with likely permanent effects they have allegedly suffered at the hands of the Wood County Agricultural Society and the Wood County Fair Foundation, two nonprofit organizations, and their agent, Brock Abke.
Contact Charles E. Boyk Law Offices for Help With Lawsuits Against Nonprofits and Who Can Be Sued
While the cases Charles E. Boyk Law Offices recently filed against nonprofit organizations were on behalf of minors and their families, this is not the only category of individuals whom nonprofit organizations and their agents can be held liable for harming. After reviewing and discussing the circumstances of your case, the attorney and their team will determine the best course of action for a lawsuit against a nonprofit organization and who can be sued for what, including whether any parties engaged in negligent acts or omissions or intentional harm.
The lawyers at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices are dedicated to seeking maximum compensation for the harm you or your loved one has suffered and will work diligently to do so. If you or a loved one has experienced personal injury or harm from a nonprofit organization or its agent(s), contact Charles E. Boyk Law Offices for a free consultation with an experienced, knowledgeable, and caring attorney. We have convenient offices located throughout northwest Ohio, up to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
