Opinion ID: 1060845
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: discretionary versus operational

Text: Our initial inquiry is whether the Animal Shelter's failure to follow-up on its order was an immune act within the purview of the GTLA. The GTLA is codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-205 and provides in pertinent part: Immunity from suit of all governmental entities is removed for injury proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of any employee within the scope of employment except if the injury: (1) Arises out of the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function, whether or not the discretion is abused. Accordingly, the GTLA provides immunity for acts or omissions that are considered discretionary functions. This Court has previously categorized governmental functions or decisions as either planning or operational under the GTLA. See Bowers v. City of Chattanooga, 826 S.W.2d 427, 430 (Tenn. 1992) (adopting a planning-operational test). Decisions arising to the level of policy-making or planning are considered discretionary acts and are immune under the GTLA. Decisions, however, that are operational in nature are not immune under the GTLA. See id. Factors to be considered in determining whether a decision is discretionary and immune under the GTLA are: (1) whether the course of conduct was determined after consideration or debate by an individual or group charged with the formulation of plans or policies; (2) whether the decision resulted from an assessment of priorities by an individual or group responsible for formulating plans or policies; and (3) whether the decision is not of the type properly reviewable by courts which are typically ill-equipped to investigate and balance numerous factors that go into executive or legislative decisions. Affirmative answers to the above questions militate toward a finding that a decision was a discretionary function. On the other hand, operational decisions may be generally classified as ad hoc decisions made by an individual or group not charged with the development of planning or policy decisions that stem from a determination based on preexisting laws, regulations, policies, or standards. See Bowers, 826 S.W.2d at 431 (discretionary function exception not applicable to claims that government employees failed to comply with regulations or policies designed to guide their actions). Lee was an individual charged with formulating plans for the release of potentially dangerous animals. Lee formulated a plan for the release of Hill's dangerous dogs. Lee ordered Hill to enroll the dogs in obedience school. Lee's order indicated that failure to enroll the dogs or comply with the order would result in immediate seizure of the dogs. Lee's decision to release the dogs and his subsequent order were not properly reviewable by a court as a court is ill-equipped to investigate and balance the numerous factors that went into Lee's decision to release the dogs. Lee's letter outlined a formulated policy designed to guide both the Animal Shelter's and Hill's actions following the release of Hill's dogs. The question then becomes whether the Animal Shelter's failure to follow and enforce its policy formulated to deal with the release of Hill's dogs was a planning or policy-making function and therefore immune under the GTLA. The Animal Shelter essentially asserts that it failed to follow its formulated plan concerning Hill's dogs' release due to another formulated plan or policy not to impound the dogs because of budgetary constraints and priorities. The record, however, does not indicate that either Lee or the Animal Shelter made a conscious decision not to pick-up the animals upon Hill's non-compliance or that a policy or procedure was in place to deal with violations of the Animal Shelter's orders. The record does not indicate whether the Animal Shelter had an established procedure for picking up animals that were both designated as dangerous and released back into society contingent upon an owner's compliance with an Animal Shelter's order. Upon the expiration of the time within which Hill had to comply with the order, the Animal Shelter did not: (1) attempt to call Hill to determine whether the order had been complied with; (2) attempt to contact Hill by letter informing him of non-compliance; or (3) place Hill's dogs on a list for future pick-up. The Animal Shelter's response was simply no response. The conditional release was contingent upon certain requirements. These requirements were not met. If the Animal Shelter had a policy in place for picking up animals upon violations of its orders and had it followed this policy, the GTLA would have provided immunity. A negligent act or omission is operational in nature and not subject to immunity when the act or omission occurs: (1) in the absence of a formulated policy guiding the conduct or omission; or (2) when the conduct deviates from an established plan or policy. The Animal Shelter's failure to impound the pit bulls fit into the first category and was, therefore, operational in nature. While Courts are ill-equipped to judge the Animal Shelter's prioritizing of the order in which animals shall be impounded, courts are well equipped to evaluate a negligent inaction proximately causing the death of an individual. The City is therefore liable under the GTLA.