Opinion ID: 2590190
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Historic Liability of Government Employees for Wrongs They Commit in the Course of Their Employment

Text: ¶ 44 We turn now to the separate and distinct issue of Chief Burton's liability in his personal capacity. Utah Code Ann. § 63-30-4 abrogates all actions against government employees for injuries they cause to others in their person and property, unless the employee acts with fraud or malice. The immunity given government employees by the 1978 and 1982 amendments to the Act created a sharp break with the Act as it existed prior thereto and, more importantly, with prior law holding such employees liable for their civil wrongs. The law in Utah, as in most other states, had been that government employees, like all business employees and all other persons, were personally liable for civil wrongs that injured the persons or property of others. [T]he common law traditionally did not distinguish between public officials and private individuals for purposes of determining the scope of personal tort liability. In fact, courts that drew such a distinction often imposed a stricter standard of care on officials than on private individuals, holding them personally liable for the consequences of simple, non-negligent mistakes. George A. Bermann, Integrating Governmental and Officer Tort Liability, 77 Colum. L.Rev. 1175, 1178 (1977). Thus, government employees could be sued in their individual capacity for wrongful acts committed in the course of their employment, even when governmental immunity barred a suit against the government agency itself. Nevertheless, the law recognized an important exception to that general rule. If the liability of employees or agents could unduly and adversely affect governmental operations by making discretionary decisions subject to suit, no liability would attach. It has long been the law that government agents are not liable for injuries to persons or property that arise from the implementation of governmental discretion. [12] As Professor Bermann stated, the purpose of this qualified official immunity is to avoid making public officials unduly fearful in their exercise of [discretionary] authority and discourag[ing] them from taking prompt and decisive action. Bermann, supra, at 1178. Officials exercising judicial, quasi-judicial, or legislative functions have broad immunity under somewhat different rules. See Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 87 S.Ct. 1213, 18 L.Ed.2d 288 (1967) (judicial immunity); Tenney v. Brandhove, 341 U.S. 367, 71 S.Ct. 783, 95 L.Ed. 1019 (1951) (legislative immunity). Accordingly, suits against government employees were limited to nonpolicy-making, nondiscretionary acts. ¶ 45 As in most jurisdictions, government employees in this state were personally liable for civil wrongs committed in a ministerial or operational capacity. See Frank v. State, 613 P.2d 517 (Utah 1980) (state-employed health care provider held subject to tort duty of due care in rendering medical treatment); Benally v. Robinson, 14 Utah 2d 6, 376 P.2d 388 (1962) (police officer held liable for failing to exercise due care for safety of prisoner); Jensen v. Taylor, 2 Utah 2d 196, 271 P.2d 838 (1954) (driver of fire truck held liable for negligent operation of fire truck); Bowman v. Hayward, 1 Utah 2d 131, 262 P.2d 957 (Utah 1953) (police officer held liable for assault and battery on a prisoner); Richardson v. Capwell, 63 Utah 616, 176 P. 205 (1918) (jailer held subject to duty of due care for failing to provide prisoner with food, warmth, and proper sanitary conditions); Clinton v. Nelson, 2 Utah 284 (1877) (marshal held subject to damages for tortuous mistreatment of prisoner); see also Payne v. Myers, 743 P.2d 186 (Utah 1987). ¶ 46 A government agent or employee performing a ministerial function could be liable even if the agency itself was engaged in a governmental function and was immune from suit. For example, in Connell v. Tooele City, 572 P.2d 697 (Utah 1977), a court clerk was held liable for failing to docket the payment of a fine, a ministerial duty, even though the court itself was engaged in a governmental function. See also Cornwall v. Larsen, 571 P.2d 925 (Utah 1977); Benally, 14 Utah 2d 6, 376 P.2d 388; Jensen, 2 Utah 2d 196, 271 P.2d 838; Bowman, 1 Utah 2d 131, 262 P.2d 957; Geros v. Harries, 65 Utah 227, 236 P. 220 (1925). [13] ¶ 47 In keeping with these principles, prior to enactment of section 63-30-4 in its present form, a government employee who exercised governmental discretion in good faith was not personally liable for resulting civil wrongs. See Ross v. Schackel, 920 P.2d 1159 (Utah 1996) (prison employee exercising what Court held to be governmental discretion held not liable); Sheffield v. Turner, 21 Utah 2d 314, 445 P.2d 367 (1968) (same); Hjorth v. Whittenburg, 121 Utah 324, 241 P.2d 907 (1952) (state road commissioner exercising discretionary powers held not liable for damages to property adjacent to highway); Garff v. Smith, 31 Utah 102, 86 P. 772 (1906) (official exercising what the common law deemed to be quasi-judicial authority held not liable). ¶ 48 Under these long-established principles, Chief Burton would be personally liable to plaintiffs for his negligent driving. Jensen, 2 Utah 2d 196, 271 P.2d 838, is squarely on point. Jensen suggests that the operation of an emergency vehicle such as a fire engine does not involve the exercise of governmental discretion. On facts much like the instant case, Jensen held the driver of a city fire engine personally liable for negligently causing injuries to a passenger in a car hit by the fire engine, even though the city was immune from suit. Cornwall, 571 P.2d 925, held to the same effect with respect to a deputy sheriff's negligent driving while responding to an emergency situation. For similar cases, see also Day v. State, 980 P.2d 1171 (Utah 1999); Benally, 14 Utah 2d 6, 376 P.2d 388; Bowman, 1 Utah 2d 131, 262 P.2d 957. Compare Jensen, 2 Utah 2d 196, 271 P.2d 838, with Rollow, 66 Utah 475, 243 P. 791. This is also the general rule in a number of other jurisdictions with respect to the driving of fire engines. See, e.g., Indianapolis Traction & Terminal Co. v. Howard, 190 Ind. 97, 128 N.E. 35 (1920); Russell v. Nadeau, 139 Me. 286, 29 A.2d 916 (1943); Garrity v. Detroit Citizens' Street Ry. Co., 112 Mich. 369, 70 N.W. 1018 (1897); Frandeka v. St. Louis Public Serv. Co., 361 Mo. 245, 234 S.W.2d 540 (1950); Johnson v. Brown, 75 Nev. 437, 345 P.2d 754 (1959); Woods v. Public Serv. Co., 84 N.J.L. 171, 85 A. 1016 (1913); Siburg v. Johnson, 249 Or. 556, 439 P.2d 865 (1968); Ferraro v. Earle, 105 Vt. 243, 164 A. 886 (1933); Davis v. Cross, 152 W.Va. 540, 164 S.E.2d 899 (1968); see also Ruth v. Rhodes, 66 Ariz. 129, 185 P.2d 304, 309 (1947) (highway patrolman). ¶ 49 In sum, in Utah, as elsewhere, the law provided a remedy by due course of law for personal injuries caused by the negligent operation of an emergency vehicle, although the standard of negligence has been modified to free such vehicles from compliance with certain traffic regulations. Under that law generally, and specifically under Jensen and Cornwall, which held drivers of emergency vehicles liable for the manner in which they drove, Chief Burton would be liable personally for the injuries he caused plaintiffs and plaintiffs would have had a remedy under the law as it existed prior to the 1982 amendment to Utah Code Ann. § 63-30-4. ¶ 50 The Governmental Immunity Act as initially enacted in 1965 did not affect the law of government employee liability in any way; indeed, it recognized and accepted it. See 1965 Utah Laws ch. 139. The Act specifically authorized governmental agencies to purchase insurance to indemnify employees for judgments against them for injuries they inflicted on the person and property of others. Section 33 of chapter 139, 1965 Laws of Utah, provided: A governmental entity may insure any or all of its employees against all or any part of his liability for injury or damage resulting from a negligent act or omission in the scope of his employment regardless of whether or not said entity is immune from suit for said act or omission, and any expenditure for such insurance is herewith declared to be for a public purpose. Thus, the Governmental Immunity Act of 1965 did not in any way affect government employees' liability for civil wrongs, but the Act did provide that government agencies could insure their employees against personal liability. Cornwall, 571 P.2d 925, described the state of the law after the Governmental Immunity Act was enacted in 1965: The Utah Governmental Immunity Act applies only to entities and does not include individuals (employees) and such was noted by the court in Sheffield v. Turner , . . . and the Act contains no language exempting employees from suit. . . . [L]egislative intent is clearly expressed in that portion of the Act which allows the entity to insure its employees against liability for their negligent acts. Cornwall, 571 P.2d at 927 (footnotes omitted). In light of the law stated above, plaintiffs would have had a remedy for their injuries prior to enactment of section 63-30-4 in its present form.