Title: Gibson v. State Through Dept. of Revenue and Taxation

State: wyoming

Issuer: Wyoming Supreme Court

Document:

Gibson v. State Through Dept. of Revenue and Taxation1991 WY 79811 P.2d 726Case Number: 90-274Decided: 05/22/1991Supreme Court of Wyoming
Sandra Rae GIBSON, as 
Personal Representative and Administratrix of the Estate of April Dawn Gibson, 
and Stephen W. Lewis, as Personal Representative and Administrator of the Estate 
of Crystal Lynette Lewis, Appellants (Plaintiffs), 

Ivy Lakey, as Personal 
Representative and Administrator of the Estate of Cindy L. Lewis 
(Plaintiff),

v.

The STATE of 
Wyoming 
through the DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE AND TAXATION, Lynn Funkhouser, individually, 
in his capacity of Driver Control Manager of the Department of Revenue and 
Taxation, and Larry Pitmon, individually, in his capacity of Supervisor of the 
Financial Responsibility Division of the Department of Revenue and Taxation, 
Appellees (Defendants).

Appeal from the District 
Court, NatronaCounty, Harry E. Leimback, 
J.

Robert W. Horn, 
Jackson, for 
appellants (plaintiffs).

Joseph B. Meyer, 
Atty. Gen., Michael L. Hubbard, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., and Milo M. Vukelich, 
Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellees (defendants).

Before 
URBIGKIT, C.J., and THOMAS, CARDINE, MACY and GOLDEN, 
JJ.

CARDINE, 
Justice.

[¶1.]     Appellants Sandra Rae 
Gibson, as the personal representative of the estate of April Dawn Gibson, and 
Stephen W. Lewis, as the personal representative of the estate of Crystal 
Lynette Lewis, seek review of an order of the district court dismissing their 
complaint asserting negligence claims against appellees State of Wyoming and two 
employees of the Wyoming Department of Revenue and Taxation. Appellants 
complained that the negligence of the named state employees, in failing to 
enforce Wyoming's financial responsibility statutes, 
was the proximate cause of their damages.

[¶2.]     We 
affirm.

[¶3.]     In their complaint 
appellants allege that John C. Ramey caused the deaths of their decedents on 
December 3, 1988; that Ramey was driving westbound in the eastbound lane of 
Interstate 25 about nine miles east of Casper when he collided with the 
decedents; that Ramey, prior to this accident, had been required to show 
financial responsibility in accordance with W.S. 31-9-401, et seq., because of 
traffic violations; and that he had, in fact, submitted such documentation to 
the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Financial Responsibility Division (FRD). 
In addition, exhibits attached to the complaint demonstrated that, under date of 
December 16, 1987, Ramey's insurer notified the FRD that Ramey had the 
statutorily required insurance in place. A second document was submitted to the 
FRD by Ramey's insurer, under date of May 31, 1988, which notified FRD that 
Ramey's insurance coverage was to be cancelled on June 18, 1988. Appellants 
alleged in their complaint that, under the governing statutes, the FRD was 
required to suspend the license and registration of Ramey for his failure to 
maintain proof of financial responsibility. Appellants maintain FRD failed to do 
this, and that failure was the proximate cause of their 
damages.

[¶4.]     Pursuant to motion 
filed by appellees, the district court dismissed appellants' complaint on the 
basis that W.S. 1-39-108 did not waive the immunity of the State for the 
appellants' claim.

[¶5.]     In this appeal 
appellants reassert their contention that the State of Wyoming waived its 
immunity to their suit by enactment of W.S. 1-39-108, which 
provides:

"(a) A governmental 
entity is liable for damages resulting from bodily injury, wrongful death or 
property damage caused by the negligence of public employees while acting within 
the scope of their duties in the operation of public utilities and services 
including gas, electricity, water, solid or liquid waste collection or disposal, 
heating and ground transportation.

"(b) The liability 
imposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section does not include liability 
for damages resulting from bodily injury, wrongful death or property damage 
caused by a failure to provide an adequate supply of gas, water, electricity or 
services as described in subsection (a) of this section."

[¶6.]     Appellants argue that 
the state employees who manage FRD and who are named in the complaint as 
defendants are "intimately involved in ground transportation because 
these employees determine who will be licensed to operate motor vehicles and 
which motor vehicles will be registered for operation." Appellants concede that 
their proposed construction of W.S. 1-39-108(a) requires this court to give 
credence to their argument that the statute is ambiguous. Appellants assert that 
ambiguity arises because the State sought to limit the application of W.S. 
1-39-108 to only public utilities; but, appellants' argument continues, the use 
of "and" between "public utilities and services" creates two elements - "public 
utilities" and "services." "Services" cannot be absorbed into "public 
utilities," they continue, without violating the rule reiterated in Story v. 
State, 755 P.2d 228, 231 (Wyo. 1988), that "all portions of an act must be read 
in pari materia, and every word, clause and sentence of it must be considered so 
that no part will be inoperative or superfluous." The argument continues at 
least one step further, asserting that the language "and services" is rendered 
meaningless and superfluous if it is only treated as another way of saying 
"public utilities." Appellants then conclude that the "services" provided by FRD 
employees relate to ground transportation and, hence, immunity is 
waived.

[¶7.]     We are unable to give 
credence to the ambiguity which appellants assert. We have viewed the facts pled 
by appellants in the light most favorable to sustaining their complaint. We have 
held that the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, W.S. 1-39-101, et seq., is a 
close-ended tort claims act; and unless a claim falls within one of the 
statutory exceptions it will be barred. Soles v. State, 809 P.2d 772 (Wyo. 1991). Wyoming 
Statute 1-39-108 is clear and unambiguous. It applies to waive immunity for 
governmental entities whose public employees operate public utilities and who 
provide gas service, electric service, and other enumerated services, including 
ground transportation service. A ground transportation service is a service that 
transports customers over the ground. Wyoming Statute 1-39-108 does not, within 
its language, include the authorities that license the public employees or 
entities that provide gas, electric, transportation and other listed services. 
We hold, therefore, that W.S. 1-39-108 is unambiguous, at least to the extent 
that the enforcement of this state's financial responsibility laws by employees 
of the FRD is not included in the waiver of immunity articulated by that 
statute.

[¶8.]     The order of the 
district court dismissing the complaint is affirmed.