| Venue: | CA SC |
| Facts: | Various employers gave Gadams positive letters of recommendation, even though there were prior accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct. Gadams then assaults a student. |
| Posture: | Demurrers at trial, reversed on appeal. |
| Issue: | Does the duty of reasonable care include the duty to disclose material information bearing on a candidate's fitness when writing letters of recommendation? |
| Holding: | Not unless you undertake to say other stuff. |
| Rule: | You can remain silent about unfavorable facts, but if you go so far as to offer a recommendation, it's misrepresentation to say only the positive, if you've got substantial negative knowledge. |
| Reasoning: | Giving false information imposes liability. A half-truth is as bad as a lie, if it is understood to be the whole truth. There's a difference between nondisclosure and misrepresentation. It was foreseeable that people would rely on these recommendations. |
| Dicta: | |