Opinion ID: 1933125
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gray v. The State of Maine

Text: When reviewing an appeal from a grant of a summary judgment, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the judgment was granted and review the trial court's conclusions for errors of law. Town of Freeport v. Greenlaw, 602 A.2d 1156, 1159 (Me. 1992). We examine the record to determine independently whether the evidence supports a conclusion that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the successful party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Carter v. Bangor Hydro-Elec. Co., 598 A.2d 739, 741 (Me. 1991). The legislative resolve in this case presents us with an unique inquiry. Protected by sovereign immunity, the State is ordinarily not liable for the torts of its agents. Moreover, certain state agents are further protected by common law or statutory immunities. See, e.g., Ingraham v. University of Maine, 441 A.2d 691, 692 (Me.1982) (prosecutorial immunity); Richards v. Ellis, 233 A.2d 37, 38 (Me.1967) (judicial immunity). See also Polley v. Atwell, 581 A.2d 410, 414 (Me.1990) (discretionary immunity provided by the Maine Tort Claims Act held applicable to a state social worker). In addition, pursuant to 22 M.R.S.A. § 4014(1) (1992), child protection workers are specifically entitled to immunity for their good faith investigatory actions. The legislative resolve lifts the protection of sovereign immunity notwithstanding any statute or common law to the contrary. It, therefore, obviates the common law and statutory immunities available to caseworkers. Accordingly, we rely on common law tort principles as between two individuals in evaluating Gray's claims against the State.