Opinion ID: 1629911
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: whether the alleged criminal activity of james williams precludes recovery by his wrongful death beneficiaries.

Text: ¶ 9. The Mississippi Tort Claims Act, Miss.Code Ann. §§ 11-46-1 to -23 (Rev.2002), provides the exclusive remedy against a governmental entity and its employees for acts or omissions which give rise to a suit. Lang v. Bay St. Louis/Waveland Sch. Dist., 764 So.2d 1234, 1236 (Miss.1999). Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-9 (Supp.1998) provides that a governmental entity and its employees acting within the course and scope of their employment shall not be liable for any claim based upon an act or omission enumerated therein. If the act or omissions fall under the subsections of § 11-46-9, then the governmental entity is exempt from liability. Lang, 764 So.2d at 1237. ¶ 10. The applicable exception to the City's liability is found in Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-9(1)(c), which states that a governmental entity shall not be liable for any claim Arising out of any act or omission of an employee of a governmental entity engaged in the performance or execution of duties or activities relating to police or fire protection unless the employee acted in disregard of the safety and well-being of any person not engaged in criminal activity at the same time of the injury. ¶ 11. Fire Truck 20 was answering a fire call and was therefore providing fire protection within the meaning of § 11-46-9(1)(c). The City then has two avenues of immunity: (1) if the decedent was engaged in criminal activity, then the City is immune, and (2) if the decedent was not engaged in criminal activity, and if the City's employees did not act with reckless disregard, then the City is immune. Finding both avenues of immunity applicable, we affirm. ¶ 12. It is undisputed that Williams's blood alcohol content was .20%, two times over the limit allowed under the law of Mississippi, at the time of the accident. Driving under the influence is criminal activity in Mississippi. Miss.Code Ann. § 63-11-30 (1972), as amended. While we have held that the criminal activity supporting [§ 11-46-9(1)(c)] must be more than fortuitous, we have never suggested that such activity must rise to the level of a felony. Bridges v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply Dist., 793 So.2d 584, 588 (Miss.2001) (citing City of Jackson v. Perry, 764 So.2d 373 (Miss. 2000)). A person can be convicted of a misdemeanor in Mississippi for first and second DUIs and for a felony if convicted a third time. Therefore, Williams was engaged in criminal activity within the meaning of § 11-46-9(1)(c) at the time of this accident. ¶ 13. Plaintiffs contend that Williams's vehicle was safely stopped at the intersection when the fire truck ran into him. This claim is disputed by the testimony of numerous witnesses, and it is not supported by the facts which reveal that the collision occurred in the middle of the intersection. To create a genuine issue of material fact, the evidence must be significantly probative. Murphree v. Fed. Ins. Co., 707 So.2d 523, 529 (Miss.1997). We conclude that the evidence presented by plaintiffs is not significantly probative. ¶ 14. Even had plaintiffs' contention been supported by the facts, it would not change the fact that Williams was intoxicated. It is therefore immaterial because it could have had no effect on the outcome of this action. Operating a vehicle involves both the moving and the stopping of a vehicle and when these are done under the influence of alcohol, it is considered criminal activity which, in this instance, operates to limit the duty owed by police and fire personnel under § 11-46-9(1)(c). ¶ 15. In order for recovery from a governmental entity to be barred because of the victim's criminal activity, the criminal activity has to have some causal nexus to the wrongdoing of the tortfeasor. City of Jackson v. Perry, 764 So.2d at 379. This is because the statute was not designed to protect grossly negligent or intentional tortfeasors from liability where the fact that the victim is engaged in a criminal activity is merely fortuitous and has no relation to the transaction out of which liability would otherwise arise. Id. ¶ 16. Plaintiffs' contention that Williams was safely stopped at the intersection is contradicted by the testimony of several witnesses, the point of impact and rest, and the results of the accident reconstruction. The reality is that Williams either stopped in the middle of the intersection or tried to beat the fire truck through the intersection and failed. Either of these possibilities were poor decisions likely induced by Williams's intoxication. A sober person would not stop in the middle of an intersection with a fire truck coming at them. A sober person would also know that they should not try to beat a fire truck across an intersection. All the other drivers at the intersection yielded to the fire truck. ¶ 17. There is not enough credible evidence here to present any general issues of material fact. Furthermore, there is a clear nexus between the criminal activity of Williams and the injury suffered by him. Had he not been driving while intoxicated, Williams would not have attempted to beat the fire truck through the intersection and would not have been killed. Finding that there was a causal nexus between Williams's criminal activity and the actions of the City employees in this case, we conclude that the immunity afforded by § 11-46-9(1)(c) applies. ¶ 18. This assignment is without merit.