Opinion ID: 2637971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: State versus private action

Text: In considering a § 1983 claim filed by the parents of Stephanie Schmidt against a state parole officer, this court distinguished private misdeeds of a government employee from wrongful acts committed within the scope of employment, stating: When a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1994) claim is asserted, a State actor may not generally be held liable under the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution for private misdeeds. Schmidt v. HTG, Inc., 265 Kan. 372, Syl. ¶ 1, 961 P.2d 677, cert. denied 525 U.S. 964 (1998). The two recognized exceptions to this general rule are: (1) the special relationship doctrine and (2) the danger creation theory. 265 Kan. at 379. Under the special relationship doctrine, one who undertakes to render services to another may create a special relationship giving rise to affirmative duties to act under the common law of tort. In certain circumstances, that person may be held liable for doing so in a negligent fashion. See DeShaney v. Winnebago Cty. Soc. Servs. Dept., 489 U.S. 189, 201-02, 103 L. Ed.2d 249, 109 S. Ct. 998 (1989). The elements of the danger creation theory are: (1) The plaintiff/victim must be a member of a limited and specifically definable group; (2) the defendant's conduct specifically put members of that group at substantial risk of serious, immediate, and proximate harm; (3) the risk was obvious or known; (4) the defendant acted recklessly in conscious disregard of that risk; and (5) the conduct, when viewed in the totality of the circumstances, is shocking to the conscience. Schmidt, 265 Kan. 372, Syl. ¶ 1. In regard to McCormick's claim against Long, it is clear that neither exception would apply. Therefore, McCormick's § 1983 claim against Long will only succeed if the wrongful conduct alleged by McCormick falls within Long's duties as a state employee, constituting government action. Thus, the Kalina case creates a conundrum for both Long and McCormick. If, pursuant to Kalina, Long's conduct in swearing out the affidavit is only the act of a complaining witness, and not that of a state prosecutor, then McCormick is foreclosed from pursuing his § 1983 claim because he will not be able to demonstrate state action. If, however, Long's actions are viewed as those of a law enforcement officer, the § 1983 claim may proceed, but the KTCA discretionary function exception might bar McCormick's state tort law claims. Here, Long was not acting in the capacity of an ordinary complaining witness, but rather was performing a type of hybrid law enforcement function in summarizing police reports and presenting them to the magistrate for review in the form of an affidavit. We find that this function may be characterized as falling within the scope of Long's employment, just as any law enforcement officer signing an affidavit. Therefore, Long's actions were those of a government agent, even though under Kalina, she was at the time performing the function of a witness.