Title: Winters v. Lumley
Citation: 557 So. 2d 1175
Docket Number: 07-58550
State: Mississippi
Issuer: Mississippi Supreme Court
Date: September 27, 1989

557 So. 2d 1175 (1989) Mattie S. WINTERS, Administratrix and Representative of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Corliss D. Suber, Deceased v. Leon LUMLEY and the Board of Supervisors of Washington County, Mississippi. No. 07-58550. Supreme Court of Mississippi. September 27, 1989. Rehearing Denied April 4, 1990. Robert E. Buck, Greenville, for appellant. B. Stevens Hazard, Daniel Coker Horton &amp; Bell, Lucy Carroll Lacey, Daniel Coker Horton &amp; Bell, J. Wyatt Hazard, Jennifer L. Welsh, Daniel Coker Firm, Jackson, for appellee. Before ROY NOBLE LEE, PITTMAN and BLASS, JJ. ROY NOBLE LEE, Chief Justice, for the Court: Mattie S. Winters, Administratrix of the Estate of Corliss D. Suber, Deceased, has appealed from a judgment of the Circuit Court, Washington County, Mississippi, entered on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion dismissing the action for damages filed against the Board of Supervisors of Washington County as a result of the death of Corliss D. Suber. The appellant assigns two (2) errors in the proceedings below. The second amended complaint charged that on December 10, 1984, Corliss Suber was driving an automobile in a westerly direction on Wilmot Road in Washington County; that suddenly and without warning, she ran into a slippery muddy place on the highway caused by large clumps of rain-moistened earth; and that her vehicle skidded out of control and crashed into the railings of a concrete bridge, causing serious *1176 injuries to Suber, from which she subsequently expired. The complaint further alleged that a mud slick and mud was upon the highway as a result of the farming operations conducted by Leon Lumley as he moved farm equipment from his farming operation onto the paved highway where the mud was shaken loose from the machinery and deposited on the highway; and that the Board of Supervisors of Washington County was negligent in that it was aware of, or should have been aware of, the dangerous condition on the highway caused by the deposits of mud and failed to clean up and remove the hazardous condition. The appellee Board of Supervisors of Washington County answered and the third defense was a Rule 12(b)(6) motion interposing and claiming sovereign immunity in the suit. The appellant also filed, prior to the court's ruling on the motion, a bill of exceptions attaching thereto copy of a policy of liability insurance which provided general liability protection for the Board of Supervisors in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). After considering the motion, together with the bill of exceptions, the lower court sustained the motion and dismissed the suit as to the Board of Supervisors with prejudice. The first question argued by the appellant on this assigned error is whether or not the removal of mud and cleanup of the slippery condition on the highway resulting from the deposit of such mud thereon by vehicles using the highway is a discretionary function or a ministerial function of the Board of Supervisors. The lower court found that it is a discretionary function rather than a ministerial function and, therefore, granted the 12(b)(6) motion. We address this question for the reason that the members of the Board of Supervisors of Washington County were sued in their "official capacities," not individually. In order to sustain a 12(b) motion, it must appear to a certainty that the appellant is entitled to no relief under any facts presented that could be proved in support of his claim. State v. Lewis, 498 So. 2d 321, 324 (Miss. 1986); Busching v. Griffin, 465 So. 2d 1037 (Miss. 1985); and Stanton &amp; Associates, Inc. v. Bryant Constr. Co., 464 So. 2d 499 (Miss. 1985). Davis v. Little, 362 So. 2d 642 (Miss. 1978), discusses the distinction between discretionary and ministerial functions: 362 So. 2d at 643. Discretionary decisions of Boards of Supervisors were discussed in Webb v. County of Lincoln, 536 So. 2d 1356 (Miss. 1988), where the Court said: We are of the opinion that removing mud and cleaning the highway in the case sub judice, as charged in the complaint, was a discretionary function of the members of the Board of Supervisors and that governmental immunity applies to them in this case. The second amended complaint sues the Board of Supervisors in the following language: As stated, the Board of Supervisors was sued in its official capacity, which also was tantamount to a suit against Washington County. The immunity of Washington County rests upon whether the function of cleaning the highway was a governmental or proprietary function. Immunity applies to all governmental functions but does not apply to proprietary functions. It is obvious that work on the county roads is a governmental function and the immunity defense is established. On Issue II, the appellant contends that, since there is a policy of liability insurance in effect covering Washington County and the Board of Supervisors against general liability claims, sovereign immunity is waived up to the amount and extent of the policy limits. Mississippi Code Annotated § 19-7-8 (Supp. 1988), provides in part: In Strait v. Pat Harrison Waterway District, 523 So. 2d 36, 39 (Miss. 1988), the Court said: Mississippi Code Annotated § 19-7-8 (Supp. 1987). 523 So. 2d at 39. See Appendix B to Strait v. Pat Harrison, supra, for statutes authorizing purchase of liability insurance by state entities and whether or not immunity was waived. The mere purchase of liability insurance by a governmental entity does not waive sovereign immunity unless the statute so provides. French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, 394 So. 2d 1385 (Miss. 1981); Joseph v. Tennessee Partners, Inc., 501 So. 2d 371 (Miss. 1987). The record contains a copy of a comprehensive general liability insurance, personal injury liability insurance and errors or omissions liability insurance policy issued by Colonial Penn Insurance Company covering Washington County, Mississippi. Washington County is the named insured. Although the suit was filed against the Board of Supervisors of Washington County, Mississippi, in their official capacities, it is obvious that Washington County is a party as well as the Board of Supervisors in their official capacities. We are of the opinion that § 19-7-8 authorizes the purchase of such general liability insurance coverage in the case sub judice and that it waives immunity up to the extent of that coverage. We are of the further opinion that the statute and waiver applies equally to members of the Board of Supervisors and employees of the county. Therefore, we hold that there is merit in Issue II and the judgment of the lower court is reversed and the cause is remanded for trial, consistent with this opinion. REVERSED AND REMANDED. HAWKINS and DAN M. LEE, P.JJ., and PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN, ANDERSON, PITTMAN and BLASS, JJ., concur.