Opinion ID: 2228677
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Heading: Approaches to Discretionary Function

Text: Governmental immunity has generated a great deal of discussion in state and federal jurisdictions. Out of this debate, several approaches have emerged to determine whether an act is discretionary and thus entitled to immunity. While these approaches are instructive, the purpose and policy underlying governmental immunity must be the cornerstone for evaluating any claim of governmental immunity.
A duty is discretionary when it involves on the part of the officer to determine whether or not he should perform a certain act, and if so in what particular way, and in the absence of corrupt motives, in the exercise of such discretion, he is not liable. His duties, however, in the performance of the act, after he has once determined that it shall be done, are ministerial, and for negligence in such performance, which results in injury, he may be liable in damages. Adams v. Schneider (1919), 71 Ind. App. 249, 255-56, 124 N.E. 718, 720. This common law distinction has found favor within our Court of Appeals since the ITCA passed. A duty is discretionary when the officer must determine whether he should perform a certain act, and, if so, in what manner. Mills v. American Playground Device Co. (1980), Ind. App., 405 N.E.2d 621. Performance of a discretionary function requires judgment and choice and involves what is proper and just under the circumstances. Rodman v. City of Wabash (1986), Ind. App., 497 N.E.2d 234. A ministerial act is performed in a prescribed manner, in obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without the exercise of judgment upon the propriety of the act. Coghill v. Badger (1981), Ind. App., 418 N.E.2d 1201, 1211 n. 9; Galey v. Board of Commissioners (1910), 174 Ind. 181, 183, 91 N.E. 593, 594; Flowney v. Jeffersonville (1861), 17 Ind. 169, 174. Ministerial acts are those done by officers and employees who are required to carry out the orders of others or to administer the law with little choice as to when, where, how or under what circumstances their acts are to be done. Restatement, supra § 895D comment h. Under this dichotomy any governmental act involving choice, judgment or decision-making is discretionary and immune from tort liability. Only those acts which require no judgment are ministerial and subject to tort liability. This Court has recognized that the application of this standard is unclear. Loy, 185 Ind. at 23, 112 N.E. at 996. This difficulty has also been noted by scholars and commentators. It seems almost impossible to draw any clear and definite line, since the distinction, if one exists, can be at most one of degree. It would be difficult to conceive of any official act, no matter how directly ministerial, that did not admit of some discretion in the manner of its performance, even if it involved only the driving of a nail. W. Prosser, The Law of Torts, supra § 132 at 990 (quoting Ham v. City of Los Angeles County, 46 Cal. App. 148, 162, 189 P. 462, 468 (1920)). If discretionary functions included every act which involves any element of choice, judgment or ability to make responsible decisions, every act would fall within the exception. Sterling v. Bloom, 111 Idaho 211, 227, 723 P.2d 755, 771 (1986). B. Planning vs. Operation. Another method of analysis has emerged primarily from interpretation of federal statutory immunity. In 1946, the United States gave consent to be sued in tort when it enacted the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b) (1982) (FTCA). The FTCA generally exposes the government to tort liability but provides immunity for certain enumerated acts and for any claim based on the exercise of a discretionary function or duty. 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a) (1982). In interpreting discretionary functions, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the distinction between governmental and proprietary functions: Furthermore, the Government in effect reads the statute as imposing liability in the same manner as if it were a municipal corporation and not as if it were a private person, and it would thus push the courts into the non-governmental  governmental quagmire that has long plagued the law of municipal corporations. A comparative study of the cases in the forty-eight States will disclose an irreconcilable conflict. More than that, the decisions in each of the States are disharmonious and disclose the inevitable chaos when courts try to apply a rule of law that is inherently unsound. Indian Towing Co. v. United States, 350 U.S. 61, 65, 76 S.Ct. 122, 124, 100 L.Ed. 48, 53-54 (1955). Rather, the Supreme Court has determined which acts are entitled to immunity by distinguishing acts performed at the planning level from acts performed at the operational level. The federal government is not subject to liability when the alleged negligence arises from decisions which are responsibly made at a planning rather than operational level and involved considerations more or less important to the practicability of the government's program. Dalehite v. United States, 346 U.S. 15, 42, 73 S.Ct. 956, 971, 97 L.Ed. 1427, 1444 (1953). Thus, immunity for discretionary functions under this analysis does not extend to all acts involving choice or judgment. The FTCA protects the discretion of the executive or the administrator to act according to his or her judgment of the best course, a concept of substantial historical ancestry in American law. The discretionary function or duty includes more than the initiation of programs and activities. It also includes determinations made by executives or administrators in establishing plans, specifications or schedules of operations. Id. at 35-36, 73 S.Ct. at 968, 97 L.Ed.2d at 1440. C. Separation of Power and Purposes of Governmental Immunity. Ultimately, the determination of whether a governmental action is immune as a discretionary function must be based on the purposes and policy underlying governmental immunity. The early purposes of governmental immunity largely have been eliminated. See Campbell, 259 Ind. at 61, 284 N.E.2d at 736. While the historical reasons supporting the doctrine of sovereign immunity are no longer vital, governmental immunity under some circumstances still serves valid purposes. Common law forms of immunity, such as immunity for legislative and judicial functions, remain even absent statutory immunity. Restatement, supra § 895B, comment b at 402. Even as it abandoned the governmental/proprietary distinction, this Court acknowledged the continuing vitality of such forms of governmental immunity. Campbell 259 Ind. at 62-63, 284 N.E.2d at 737. The policy underlying governmental immunity is the fundamental idea that certain kinds of executive branch decisions should not be subject to judicial review. The separation of powers doctrine forecloses the courts from reviewing political, social and economic actions within the province of coordinate branches of government. In this way, the discretionary function exception articulates a policy of preventing tort actions from becoming a vehicle for judicial interference with decision-making that is properly exercised by other branches of the government... . Blessing v. United States, 447 F. Supp. 1160, 1170 (E.D.Penn. 1978) (interpreting FTCA discretionary function exception). See also Carter v. City of Stuart, 468 So.2d 955, 956 (Fla. 1985) (discretionary functions immune because coordinate branches of government may not be subject to scrutiny by judge or jury as to the wisdom of their performance) (quoting Commercial Carrier Corp. v. Indiana River County, 371 So.2d 1010, 1022 (Fla. 1979)); Ostendorf v. Kenyon, 347 N.W.2d 834 (Minn.App. 1984) (purpose of discretionary function exception is that courts are not an appropriate forum to review and second guess acts of government which involve exercise of judgment); Whitney v. City of Worcester, 373 Mass. 208, 366 N.E.2d 1210 (1977) (judicial abstention from policy formation of coordinate branches required because inquiries into political discretion would jeopardize quality and efficiency of government); Industrial Indemnity Co. v. Alaska, 669 P.2d 561 (Alaska 1983) (basic policy decisions are vested in politically responsive branches). Governmental immunity for discretionary functions also avoids inhibiting the effective and efficient performance of governmental duties. Policy-making activities lie at the heart of governance and such essential acts should not be subject to judicial second-guessing or harassment by the actual or potential threat of liability litigation. Tort immunity for basic planning and policy-making functions is necessary to avoid the chilling effect on the ability of the government to deal effectively with difficult policy issues which it confronts daily. C & D Partnership v. City of Gahanna, 15 Ohio St.3d 359, 474 N.E.2d 303 (1984). Moreover, the traditional tort standard of negligence does not provide an adequate basis for evaluating certain governmental decisions. As the district court in Blessing said: [T]he judiciary confines itself ... to adjudication of facts based on discernible objective standards of law. In the context of tort actions ... these objective standards are notably lacking when the question is not negligence but social wisdom, not due care but political practicability, not unreasonableness but economic expediency. Tort law simply furnishes an inadequate crucible for testing the merits of social, political, or economic decisions. Blessing, 447 F. Supp. at 1170-72. See also Wainscott v. State, 642 P.2d 1355 (Alaska 1982) (discretionary exception recognizes that courts are ill-equipped to investigate and balance numerous factors in legislative or executive decisions); Cairl v. State, 323 N.W.2d 20 (Minn. 1982) (negligence action not an appropriate forum to review exercise of judgment by other branches). Immunity for discretionary functions, however, does not protect all mistakes of judgment. The discretionary function exception insulates only those significant policy and political decisions which cannot be assessed by customary tort standards. In this sense, the word discretionary does not mean mere judgment or discernment. Rather, it refers to the exercise of political power which is held accountable only to the Constitution or the political process. Miller v. United States, 583 F.2d 857, 866-67 (6th Cir.1978). This interpretation of the discretionary function exception also comports with the Restatement (Second) of Torts: Even when a State is subject to tort liability, it and its governmental agencies are immune to liability for acts and omissions constituting (a) the exercise of a judicial or legislative function, or (b) the exercise of an administrative function involving the determination of fundamental government policy. Restatement, supra § 895B(3). The distinction between planning and operational functions relates well to the purposes of governmental immunity. It requires an inquiry into the nature of the governmental act and the decision-making process involved. Merely labeling an action as planning or operational, without more, cannot pass for analysis. The critical inquiry is not merely whether judgment was exercised but whether the nature of the judgment called for policy considerations. Blessing, 447 F. Supp. at 1178 (quoting Griffin v. United States, 500 F.2d 1059, 1064 (3rd Cir.1974)). In many cases, courts have looked to the purposes of immunity in determining whether an act is planning or operational. Under the planning/operational dichotomy, the type of discretion which may be immunized from tort liability is generally that attributable to the essence of governing. Enghauser Mfg. Co. v. Eriksson Engineering, 6 Ohio St.3d 31, 451 N.E.2d 228 (1983). Planning activities include acts or omissions in the exercise of a legislative, judicial, executive or planning function which involves formulation of basic policy decisions characterized by official judgment or discretion in weighing alternatives and choosing public policy. Marrek v. Cleveland Metroparks Board. of Commissioners, 9 Ohio 3d 194, 459 N.E.2d 873 (1984). Government decisions about policy formation which involve assessment of competing priorities and a weighing of budgetary considerations or the allocation of scarce resources are also planning activities. Industrial Indemnity Co., 669 P.2d at 564-65. The distinction between planning and operational functions is a standard, rather than a precise rule. The focus must remain on the policy underlying governmental immunity. If the act is one committed to coordinate branches of the government involving policy decisions not reviewable under traditional tort standards of reasonableness, the government is immune from liability even if the act was performed negligently.