Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 41-3-203 (2026)

Liability -- Immunity From Liability -- Damages

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 41. MINORS

CHAPTER 3. CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

Part 2. Reports and Investigations

Liability -- Immunity From Liability -- Damages

41-3-203. Liability -- immunity from liability -- damages. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), anyone investigating or reporting any incident of child abuse or neglect under 41-3-201 or 41-3-202, participating in resulting judicial proceedings, or furnishing hospital or medical records as required by 41-3-202 is immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed unless the person was grossly negligent or acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or provided information knowing the information to be false.

(2) Any person who knowingly makes a false report or allegation of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or makes a report in bad faith is liable to the party or parties against whom the report was made for the amount of actual damages sustained or for statutory damages of $2,500, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees and costs. If the person acted with malicious purpose, the court may award treble actual damages or treble statutory damages, whichever is greater.

(3) A person who provides information pursuant to 41-3-201 or a person who uses information received pursuant to 41-3-205 to refuse to hire or to discharge a prospective or current employee, volunteer, or other person who through employment or volunteer activities may have unsupervised contact with children and who may pose a risk to children is immune from civil liability unless the person acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose.

History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 178, L. 1965; Sec. 10-904, R.C.M. 1947; redes. 10-1306 by Sec. 14, Ch. 328, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 10-1306; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 543, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 181, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 458, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 566, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 382, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 656, L. 2023.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2024 · leading case: Newville v. State, Dept. of Fam. Servs., 883 P.2d 793 (Mont. 1994).

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Newville v. State, Dept. of Fam. Servs., 883 P.2d 793 (Mont. 1994). · cites it 6× “First, it contends that the acts of approval for adoption, foster placement and investigation of the child abuse report were quasi-judicial functions in which the Department was acting in a quasi-judicial capacity and, therefore, the District Court should have dismissed the tort…”

Gross v. Myers, 748 P.2d 459 (Mont. 1987). · cites it 5× “II Did the District Court err in granting defendant's motion for summary judgment on the issue of her statutory immunity from civil liability? The District Court granted summary judgment under § 41-3-203, MCA, which provides immunity from liability.”

Weber v. State, 2015 MT 161 (Mont. 2015). · cites it 11× “The question presented in the cross-appeal is whether, in its 2013 order, the District Court erred in rejecting the State’s request for immunity under § 41-3-203(1), MCA. We reverse the District Court’s 2013 denial of summary judgment and affirm the court’s judgment in favor of…”

Brown v. Montana, 442 F. Supp. 2d 982 (D. Mont. 2006). · cites it 2× “Mont.Code Ann. § 41-3-203(1) immunizes reporters and investigators, including social workers, from civil liability "unless the person was grossly negligent or acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or provided information knowing the information to be false.”

Anderson v. Montana Dep't of Pub. Health & Human Servs. (D. Mont. 2024). · cites it 3× “The Court does not find that Judge Cavan committed clear error and holds that summary judgment should be denied as to the Department’s claim of immunity under § 41-3-203(1). Even if the Department’s objection were proper, in an opinion issued shortly after Judge Cavan filed his…”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 41-3-203(1) — 3 cases

Weber v. State, 2015 MT 161 (Mont. 2015). “The question presented in the cross-appeal is whether, in its 2013 order, the District Court erred in rejecting the State’s request for immunity under § 41-3-203(1), MCA. We reverse the District Court’s 2013 denial of summary judgment and affirm the court’s judgment in favor of…”

Brown v. Montana, 442 F. Supp. 2d 982 (D. Mont. 2006). “Mont.Code Ann. § 41-3-203(1) immunizes reporters and investigators, including social workers, from civil liability "unless the person was grossly negligent or acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or provided information knowing the information to be false.”

Anderson v. Montana Dep't of Pub. Health & Human Servs. (D. Mont. 2024). “The Court does not find that Judge Cavan committed clear error and holds that summary judgment should be denied as to the Department’s claim of immunity under § 41-3-203(1). Even if the Department’s objection were proper, in an opinion issued shortly after Judge Cavan filed his…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.