Opinion ID: 775424
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sovereign Immunity--State Law Claims Against the Deputies

Text: 32 The deputies moved to dismiss the state wrongful death and survival claims, asserting that they were entitled to sovereign immunity under the Illinois State Lawsuit Immunity Act, 745 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/1, and Court of Claims Act, 705 Ill. Comp. Stat. 505/8. The district court denied the deputies' motion, holding that the lawsuit was not a suit against the state for purposes of Illinois sovereign immunity. On appeal, the deputies argue that the district court's decision was wrong as a matter of Illinois law. We agree. 33 The Illinois State Lawsuit Immunity Act, 745 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/1, provides that the State of Illinois is immune from suit in any court, except as provided in the Illinois Court of Claims Act, 705 Ill. Comp. Stat. 505/8 (and other statutes not relevant here), which vests jurisdiction over state tort claims against the state in the Illinois Court of Claims. These state immunity rules apply to Richman's state law claims in federal court. Benning v. Bd. of Regents, 928 F.2d 775, 778-79 (7th Cir. 1991); Magdziak v. Byrd, 96 F.3d 1045, 1048 (7th Cir. 1996). 34 Under Illinois law, a claim against individual officers will be considered a claim against the state, even when, as here, the officials are sued in their individual capacities, if judgment for the plaintiff could operate to control the actions of the State or subject it to liability. Currie v. Lao, 592 N.E.2d 977, 980 (Ill. 1992); Feldman v. Ho, 171 F.3d 494, 498 (7th Cir. 1999). If the state law claim is deemed to be against the state, then it must be dismissed. This is because, under Illinois law, the deputies would have absolute immunity, and under the Eleventh Amendment, the claim for damages against the state may not be brought in federal court. Feldman, 171 F.3d at 498. Either way, the collateral order doctrine provides the basis for appellate jurisdiction under the principles of Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 525-30, and Metcalf & Eddy, 506 U.S. at 145-46. See Griesel v. Hamlin, 963 F.2d 338, 340-41 (11th Cir. 1992) (per curiam) (holding that denial of officer's immunity under state law is an immediately appealable collateral order); Napolitano v. Flynn, 949 F.2d 617, 621 (2d Cir. 1991) (same). 35 Deputy sheriffs executing orders of the court may be agents of the state for purposes of Illinois sovereign immunity. Alencastro v. Sheahan, 698 N.E.2d 1095, 1101 (Ill. App. Ct. 1998). An agent's conduct will be attributed to the state for purposes of sovereign immunity if: '(1) [there are] no allegations that an agent or employee of the State acted beyond the scope of his authority through wrongful acts; (2) the duty alleged to have been breached was not owed to the public generally independent of the fact of State employment; and (3) . . . the complained-of actions involve matters ordinarily within that employee's normal and official functions of the State.' Healy v. Vaupel, 549 N.E.2d 1240, 1247 (Ill. 1990) (quoting Robb v. Sutton, 498 N.E.2d 267, 272 (Ill. App. Ct. 1986)); Benning, 928 F.2d at 779. Sovereign immunity affords no protection, however, when it is alleged that the State's agent acted in violation of statutory or constitutional law or in excess of his authority. See Nichol v. Stass, 735 N.E.2d 582, 586 (Ill. 2000); Healy, 549 N.E.2d at 1247; see also Feldman, 171 F.3d at 498 (Illinois follows the federal practice by making an exception for situations in which the public employee did not act within the scope of his employment or violated the Constitution.). 36 Applying these principles, we conclude that Illinois would consider the wrongful death and survival claims against the deputies to be against the state. Richman's state wrongful death and survival claims are not dependant on the alleged constitutional violation, but instead on a theory of wilful and wanton negligence, so the exception to immunity for unconstitutional conduct does not apply. Cf. Medina v. City of Chicago, 606 N.E.2d 490, 498 (Ill. App. Ct. 1992) (holding that there was no inconsistency between jury's verdict for plaintiff on wrongful death claim and for defendant on &#167 1983 claim of excessive force: Two different standards are involved.); Leavitt v. Farwell Tower Ltd. P'ship, 625 N.E.2d 48, 52 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993) (wrongful death claim requires a breach of a duty, owed to the decedent, which proximately caused decedent's death, and pecuniary damages). Furthermore, Richman does not allege that the deputies' conduct was not within their normal duties, and the duty owed to Jack Richman was owed by virtue of the deputies' obligation to enforce the state court's order. The critical question, then, for determining the deputies' entitlement to sovereign immunity is whether the deputies acted beyond the scope of their authority. See Healy, 549 N.E.2d at 1247; Benning, 928 F.2d at 780-81. 37 As we noted earlier in this opinion (for purposes of determining the deputies' entitlement to quasi-judicial immunity), Richman does not allege that the deputies' conduct was specifically authorized by the Illinois judge. However, for purposes of determining whether an agent's acts are within the scope of his authority, the fact that the agent's act was not specifically authorized is not dispositive, so long as it is of the general kind he is authorized to perform, and is motivated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the principal. 7 See Janes v. Albergo, 626 N.E.2d 1127, 1132-33 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993); Gaffney v. City of Chicago, 706 N.E.2d 914, 919-20 (Ill. App. Ct. 1998); Mitchell v. Norman James Constr. Co., 684 N.E.2d 872, 878 (Ill. App. Ct. 1997);Sunseri v. Puccia, 422 N.E.2d 925, 930 (Ill. App. Ct. 1981). Similarly, if there are no allegations that the defendant was acting for a purpose unrelated to his employment, the fact that the conduct was wilful and wanton does not take the conduct outside the defendant's scope of agency for purposes of sovereign immunity. See Janes, 626 N.E.2d at 1132; Rembis v. Bd. of Trustees, 618 N.E.2d 797, 799-800 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993); Campbell v. White, 566 N.E.2d 47, 53-54 (Ill. App. Ct. 1991). Richman alleges that the deputies' conduct was wilful and wanton, but there is nothing in the complaint that would indicate that the deputies' conduct was motivated by a purpose other than executing the judge's order. We therefore conclude that the deputies' actions were within the scope of their authority for purposes of Illinois sovereign immunity. 38 Because we conclude that the deputies' acts are attributable to the state for purposes of sovereign immunity under the Illinois State Lawsuit Immunity Act and Court of Claims Act, we reverse the district court's decision denying the deputies' motion to dismiss the state law claims.