On May 7, 2026, after a three-day trial in the Circuit Court of Oregon for Multnomah County, Baker Sterchi Seattle attorneys, alongside co-counsel, obtained a directed defense verdict on behalf of a nonprofit client in Portland, Oregon. In N.W. v. Renewal House Northwest, d/b/a Taylor Made Retreat, Case No. 24CV53357, the plaintiff was a resident of a spiritual 12-step alcohol recovery retreat.
During the program, the plaintiff and the nonprofit’s executive director developed an emotional attachment that led to a consensual romantic and sexual relationship, which they concealed from staff, other residents and the board of directors. The relationship continued briefly after the plaintiff completed the program. After the board learned of the relationship, the executive director was placed on leave and the program shut down shortly thereafter.
The plaintiff asserted claims of direct and vicarious liability against the nonprofit, alleging serious emotional distress arising from regret over the relationship. The case presented issues of first impression in Oregon, and the plaintiff sought damages of $2.25 million.
At the close of evidence, both parties moved for directed verdict on whether a special relationship existed between the organization and the plaintiff that imposed a heightened duty of care to protect her from the foreseeable harm of regret arising from the relationship. The defense argued that a consensual relationship between two adults in the context of an immersive 12-step program did not constitute a “special relationship” under Oregon law. The defense further argued that, unlike a doctor-patient relationship, the organization was nonmedical and nonclinical in nature, among other distinctions.
The court granted the defense motions for directed verdict in a lengthy oral ruling, holding there was no legally protected interest to be free from entering into a consensual relationship under the circumstances presented.
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