Case Name: PRENTISS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION and James H. Holt v. Virginia BEAUMONT, Executrix of the Estate of Charles Beaumont
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2002-02-14
Citations: 815 So. 2d 1135
Docket Number: No. 2000-CA-01780-SCT
Parties: PRENTISS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION and James H. Holt v. Virginia BEAUMONT, Executrix of the Estate of Charles Beaumont.
Judges: PITTMAN, C.J., SMITH, P.J., COBB and Carlson, JJ., CONCUR. McRAE, P.J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. DIAZ, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY McRAE, P.J., EASLEY and GRAVES, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 815
Pages: 1135–1139

Head Matter:
PRENTISS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION and James H. Holt v. Virginia BEAUMONT, Executrix of the Estate of Charles Beaumont.
No. 2000-CA-01780-SCT.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Feb. 14, 2002.
Rehearing Denied May 23, 2002.
John Benton Clark, Jackson, Wilton V. Byars, III, Oxford, Mitchell Orvis Driskell, III, Jackson, Attorneys for Appellants.
Duncan L. Lott, Bonneville, Attorney for Appellee.

Opinion:
INTRODUCTION
WALLER, J., for the Court.
¶ 1. James H. Holt was employed by Prentiss County Board of Education as a school bus driver. While Holt was in the course and scope of his employment with the Board driving a Prentiss County school bus, a motor vehicle accident occurred, and several people, including Charles Beaumont, were injured.
¶ 2. In this case brought under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA), Miss. Code Ann. § 11-16-1 to 23 (Supp.2001), we consider whether a trial court erred in refusing to reduce an excess judgment against a governmental entity to the amount of its available liability insurance coverage.
¶ 3. Beaumont admits that the Board is a "governmental entity" as contemplated under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. See id. § ll-46-l(g) & (i). Pursuant to § 11-46-17(4), the Board purchased an automobile liability insurance policy from the Hartford Casualty Insurance Company with aggregate limits of $1,000,000. Hartford paid out $449,304.47 for settlement of claims other than Beaumont's personal injury claim and arising from the same accident. Beaumont did not wish to settle his personal injury claim, but proceeded to trial on damages only. The Circuit Court of Prentiss County rendered a judgment in favor of Beaumont in the amount of $800,000. Because there was only $550,695.52 left from the $1,000,000 aggregate limits available for this single occurrence in which to pay Beaumont's judgment, the Board and Holt filed a motion to reduce the judgment to $550,695.52. The trial court denied the motion, stating:
[T]he voluntary settlement of these other claims by [Hartford] does not reduce the applicable limits stated in the insurance policy as they were not a judgment or verdict against the Prentiss County Board of Education.

The statute in question does not allow for a reduction to the "available liability limits" as proposed by the defendants, but only as to "the extent of such excess liability insurance carried."
¶ 4. The Board and Holt appeal from the trial court's denial of this motion. Since Mississippi is a "single occurrence" state, and given the explicit language of Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-15(3) (Supp.2001), requiring the reduction here, we reverse and remand for entry of a new judgment in the amount of available liability insurance coverage.
DISCUSSION
¶ 5. The trial court's statutory interpretation is a question of law which we review de novo. Maldonado v. Kelly, 768 So.2d 906, 908 (Miss.2000). Mississippi is a "single occurrence" state under § ll-46-15(l). All of the claimants from the school bus accident must therefore share in, and their damages are limited to, the $1,000,000 aggregate limits of coverage from the policy. The trial court's ruling directly contravenes section 11^46-15(3).
¶ 6. The MTCA provides the exclusive remedy for all claims or suits seeking damages against a governmental entity and its employees. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-7(1) (Supp.2001). See also L.W. v. McComb Separate Mun. Sch. Dist., 754 So.2d 1136, 1138 (Miss.1999). Therefore, § 11^16-15(3), which mandates a reduction of Beaumont's judgment, must be followed. Beaumont seeks to avoid the limitation of liability by arguing, without authority, that the prior payments were voluntary and therefore do not reduce the waiver of immunity. We reject this argument. Negotiating claims that the insurer has an obligation to defend and settle is not a voluntary payment. See Harmon v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 232 So.2d 206, 207-08 (Fla. Dist.Ct.App.1970) (insurer faced with multiple claims arising out of same accident has right to enter into reasonable settlements with some claimants).
CONCLUSION
¶ 7. Because Mississippi is a "single occurrence" state and the trial court's denial of the motion to reduce the judgment directly contravenes § 11-46-15(3), we reverse the trial court's judgment and its order denying the motion to reduce the verdict and remand this case with directions that the trial court enter a new judgment in favor of Charles Beaumont and against the Prentiss County Board of Education for $550,695.52, the balance of the $1,000,000 insurance proceeds.
¶ 8. REVERSED AND REMANDED.
PITTMAN, C.J., SMITH, P.J., COBB and Carlson, JJ., CONCUR. McRAE, P.J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. DIAZ, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY McRAE, P.J., EASLEY and GRAVES, JJ.
. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-1 (Supp.2001):
(g) "Governmental entity" means and includes the state and political subdivisions as herein defined.
(i) "Political subdivision" means any body politic or body corporate other than the state responsible for governmental activities only in geographic areas smaller than that of the state, including but not limited to any county, municipality, school district,....
. Miss:Code Ann. § 11-46-17(4) (Supp.2001):
(4) Any governmental entity of the state may purchase liability insurance to cover claims in excess of the amounts provided for in Section 11-46-15 and may be sued by anyone in excess of the amounts provided for in Section 11-46-15 to the extent of such excess insurance carried; provided, however, that the immunity from suit above the amounts provided for in Section 11-46-15 shall be waived only to the extent of such excess liability insurance carried.
.Beaumont's property damage claim was settled and is not a subject of this appeal.
. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-15(1) (Supp.2001):
(1) In any claim or suit for damages against a governmental entity or its employee brought under the provisions of this chapter, the liability shall not exceed the following for all claims arising out of a single occurrence for all damages permitted under this chapter....
(emphasis added).
. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-15(3) (Supp.2001):
(3) Except as otherwise provided in Section 11-46-17(4), in any suit brought under the provisions of this chapter, if the verdict which is returned, when added to costs and any attorney's fees authorized by law, would exceed the maximum dollar amount of liability provided in subsection (1) of this section, the court shall reduce the verdict accordingly and enter judgment in an amount not to exceed the maximum dollar amount of liability provided in subsection (1) of this section.
(emphasis added).
. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-7(1) (Supp.2001):
(1) The remedy provided by this chapter against a governmental entity or its employee is exclusive of any other civil action or civil proceeding by reason of the same subject matter against the governmental entity or its employee or the estate of the employee for the act or omission which gave rise to the claim or suit; and any claim made or suit filed against a governmental entity or its employee to recover damages for any injury for which immunity has been waived under this chapter shall be brought only under the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary.