Opinion ID: 1717658
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Claim against the State

Text: The Trial Court ruled as follows on the issue of whether there was a claim against the State: It is not a lawsuit against the State in the traditional sense of the word. The State, by assuming custody of the juvenile, thereby becomes responsible for the actions of the juvenile and must provide for the well-being and care of that juvenile. When that juvenile is hailed into Court they must appear as the responsible parents, they must partake in the intake process, appear in Court and abide by the Court's decision as parents normally would. In Commission on Judicial Discipline & Disability v. Digby, 303 Ark. 24, 792 S.W.2d 594 (1990), Gannett Publishing Company brought a declaratory judgment action seeking to require the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission to release information from its files to the public. Gannett sought costs and expenses. The Commission argued the Circuit Court was, on the basis of sovereign immunity, without jurisdiction to hear the action. We held the declaratory judgment action could proceed only to the extent the State would incur no financial liability. We granted prohibition to prevent the exercise of jurisdiction with respect to costs and expenses against the State. In Beaulieu v. Gray, 288 Ark. 395, 705 S.W.2d 880 (1986), Beaulieu sued administrators and engineers of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for injuries sustained in a car accident. We held sovereign immunity prevented what was, in reality, a suit against the State and stated: Accordingly, it is well settled, as a general proposition, that, where a suit is brought against an officer or agency with relation to some matter in which the defendant represents the state in action and liability, and the state, while not a party to the record, is the real party against which relief is sought so that a judgment for plaintiff, although nominally against the named defendant as an individual or entity distinct from the state, will operate to control the action of the state or subject it to liability, the suit is in effect one against the state and cannot be maintained without its consent. citing Page v. McKinley, 196 Ark. 331, 118 S.W.2d 235 (1938). Because the State would be required to pay any judgment, sovereign immunity prevented the claim. Most cases which address sovereign immunity involve some type of lawsuit being filed against a state agency or officer. See, e.g., Department of Human Services v. Crunkleton, 303 Ark. 21, 791 S.W.2d 704 (1990); Arkansas State Highway Comm. v. Lasley, 239 Ark. 538, 390 S.W.2d 443 (1965); Roesler v. Denton, 239 Ark. 462, 390 S.W.2d 98 (1965). In this case, no one has filed a lawsuit against DHS seeking costs and restitution. Instead, the Court has imposed, under statutory authority, costs and restitutionary awards against a state agency in connection with delinquency proceedings when the agency acts as a custodian of a juvenile. While no suit, in the traditional sense, has been brought against the State, the State will no doubt have been coerced to bear the financial obligation to pay costs and restitution if the orders are upheld. Any suit, whether in law or equity, which has for its purpose and effect, directly or indirectly, coercing the State, is one against the State. Watson v. Dodge, 187 Ark. 1055, 63 S.W.2d 993 (1933). We recognize there is authority for the proposition that a court may impose fines against DHS for contempt. For example, in Arkansas Department of Human Services v. Clark, 305 Ark. 561, 810 S.W.2d 331 (1991), the Juvenile Court assessed a $250 contempt fine when DHS failed to comply with a court order. See also Arkansas Department of Human Services v. Gruber, 39 Ark.App. 112, 839 S.W.2d 543 (1992) (court assessed a $150 fine when DHS representative failed to appear at scheduled hearing). No doubt a fine assessed against DHS is coercive of the State. DHS attempts to distinguish the Clark case by arguing that the Trial Court there clearly had the authority to issue the orders found to have been violated by DHS employees. That misses the point because the order to which the sovereign immunity issue was relevant was the order requiring DHS to pay a fine rather than the orders DHS agents violated which resulted in the fine. Criminal contempt cases constitute an exception to the sovereign immunity doctrine. The power to punish for contempt is an inherent power of the court. Gatlin v. Gatlin, 306 Ark. 146, 811 S.W.2d 761 (1991). While we agree the State cannot be coerced as the result of a judgment in favor of a litigant, we recognize that a court must have the authority to control the parties and other persons before it. A state agent or agency having full knowledge of a court order and its import cannot disregard it and claim entitlement to sovereign immunity in response to a contempt citation. See Cammack v. Chalmers, 284 Ark. 161, 680 S.W.2d 689 (1984), as well as other cases cited in Commission on Judicial Discipline and Disability v. Digby, supra , in which we held an agent of the State is subject to being enjoined for an illegal, unconstitutional, or ultra vires act.