Opinion ID: 1391747
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Employees Acting in the Absence of or in Excess of Their Authority

Text: One of the areas in which courts find the identity of the state and public officials divisible is where state officers have acted without or in excess of their authority and, therefore, their acts are not regarded as being those of the state for immunity purposes. Where a public officer acts in the absence of or in excess of his authority, he may be held personally liable for his wrongdoing. In such circumstances, he is viewed by courts to be acting individually and not in his official capacity. The general rule is stated in 63 Am.Jur.2d, Public Officers and Employees, § 291, Acts in excess of authority, pp. 801-802, as follows: The immunity of the sovereign from suit does not protect public officers from personal liability for their wrongful acts in excess of their official authority, and an officer-executive, administrative, quasi-judicial, ministerial, or otherwise-who acts outside the scope of his jurisdiction and without authorization of law may thereby render himself amenable to personal liability in a civil suit. If he exceeds the power conferred on him by law, he cannot shelter himself by the plea that he is a public agent acting under color of his office, or that the damage was caused by an act done or omitted under color of office, and not personally. In the eye of the law, his acts then are wholly without authority. In this connection a careful distinction must be drawn between erroneous acts in the exercise of jurisdiction or authority and acts in excess of jurisdiction... . (Footnote references omitted and emphasis supplied.) In Schwing, supra, which we quoted in Retail Clerks Local 187, supra, the court stated the exception to the general rule of state officers' non-liability where the opinion says: ... On the other hand, where the action at law or suit in equity is maintained against a state officer or the director of a department on the ground that, while claiming to act for the state, he violates or invades the personal and property rights of the plaintiff under an unconstitutional act, or under an assumption of authority which he does not have, such suit is not against the state. Noorman v. Department of Public Works and Buildings, 366 Ill. 216, 8 N.E.2d 637, supra; Fitts v. McGhee, 172 U.S. 516, 19 S.Ct. 269, 43 L.Ed. 535; United States v. Lee, 106 U.S. 196, 1 S.Ct. 240, 27 L.Ed. 171; White Eagle Oil & Refining Co. v. Gunderson, 48 S.D. 608, 205 N.W. 614, 43 A.L.R. 397. The presumption obtains that the state, or a department thereof, will not, and does not, violate the Constitution and laws of the state, but that such violation, if it occurs, is by a state officer or the head of a department of the state, and such officer or head may be restrained by proper action instituted by a citizen. Tindal v. Wesley, 167 U.S. 204, 17 S.Ct. 770, 42 L.Ed. 137; Noorman v. Department of Public Works and Buildings, supra; Joos v. Illinois National Guard, 257 Ill. 138, 100 N.E. 505, 43 L.R.A., N.S., 1214, Ann.Cas. 1914A, 862... . 367 Ill. 436, 11 N.E.2d at 947. (Emphasis supplied.)