Opinion ID: 784574
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Retaliatory Discharge and Sovereign Immunity

Text: 16 Epps next argues that Pine Lawn unlawfully retaliated against him because he filed a workers' compensation claim. Epps's claim, however, is barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Pine Lawn, as a municipality, is protected by discretionary immunity, a more restrictive type of sovereign immunity recognized in Missouri. Jungerman v. City of Raytown, 925 S.W.2d 202, 204 (Mo.1996). Under Missouri's discretionary immunity doctrine, a city is not liable for the manner in which it performs discretionary duties, such as an official's exercise of reason in the adaption of means to an end and discretion in determining how or whether an act should be done or course pursued. Id. at 205 (internal quotations omitted). The parties here agree that Pine Lawn generally enjoys this level of immunity. 17 Sovereign immunity has existed by statute in Missouri since 1977, with certain exceptions that the Missouri courts construe narrowly. See Mo.Rev.Stat. §§ 537.600, .610. Rather than argue that immunity does not apply, Epps contends that Pine Lawn waived its immunity by purchasing an insurance policy through the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund (MOPERM), a statutory entity through which subscriber public entities are covered by insurance. See Mo.Rev. Stat. §§ 537.700, .745.1. 18 Despite the statutory language maintaining sovereign immunity for subscriber entities, sovereign immunity can still be waived in certain instances. Under section 537.600, sovereign immunity is waived in automobile cases and cases involving injury caused by a dangerous condition of public property. Additionally, section 537.610.1 provides that sovereign immunity can be waived by the purchase of insurance covering tort claims. 6 Section 537.610.1 provides an independent basis for waiving sovereign immunity—a basis cemented in the existence of coverage for the damage or injury at issue under the language of the insurance policy. Hummel v. St. Charles City R-3 School Dist., 114 S.W.3d 282, 2003 WL 21262853,  (Mo.Ct. App.2003) (quoting State ex rel. Cass Med. Ctr. v. Mason, 796 S.W.2d 621, 624 (Mo. 1990)); State ex rel. Bd. of Trs. of City of North Kansas City Mem. Hosp. v. Russell, 843 S.W.2d 353, 360 (Mo.1992). Whether sovereign immunity is waived in a particular case depends on whether the plaintiff's claim falls within the purposes covered by the defendant's policy. Casey v. Chung, 989 S.W.2d 592, 593 (Mo.Ct.App.1998); Fantasma v. Kansas City Board of Police Comm'rs, 913 S.W.2d 388, 391 (Mo.Ct.App. 1996); Fields v. Curators of the Univ. of Missouri, 848 S.W.2d 589, 592 (Mo.Ct.App. 1993); Russell, 843 S.W.2d at 360; Cass Med. Ctr., 796 S.W.2d at 623. 19 To penetrate a claim of immunity under section 537.610.1, a plaintiff is required to demonstrate the existence of insurance that covered the plaintiff's claim. Brennan By and Through Brennan v. Curators of the Univ. of Missouri, 942 S.W.2d 432, 436 (Mo.Ct.App.1997). Because a public entity's liability for torts is the exception to the general rule of sovereign immunity, a plaintiff must specifically plead facts demonstrating that the claim is within this exception to sovereign immunity. See Burke v. City of St. Louis, 349 S.W.2d 930 (Mo.1961); see also, e.g., Martin v. City of Washington, 848 S.W.2d 487, 490-91 (Mo.1993) (discussing pleading requirements for dangerous condition exception in section 537.600). 20 Epps argues that the MOPERM policy contains language in the Public Officials Errors and Omissions clause that qualifies as a waiver of immunity. For support, Epps cites Amick v. Pattonville-Bridgeton Terrace Fire Prot. Dist., 91 S.W.3d 603 (Mo.2002). In Amick, the plaintiff sued the Fire Protection District for retaliatory discharge after the plaintiff filed a workers' compensation claim. The Missouri Supreme Court determined that the Fire Protection District's insurance policy waived sovereign immunity because a clause in the policy provided that the District would pay for amounts to which the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as monetary damages because of a `wrongful act' to which this insurance applies. Id. at 604. Epps argues that the Public Officials Errors and Omission definition in the MOPERM policy similarly waives immunity. This definition provides: 21 Public Officials Errors and Omissions means any and all breaches of duty by the Covered Party arising from negligent action or inaction, mistake, misstatement, error, neglect, inadvertence, or omission by the Covered Party in the discharge of duties with the Member Agency. 22 Appendix at 348. After comparing the policy provision in Amick with the MOPERM provision, we disagree with Epps's assertion that the MOPERM policy provision waives Pine Lawn's sovereign immunity. The MOPERM Public Officials Errors and Omissions clause clearly speaks to inadvertent or accidental errors or mistakes rather than a deliberate act, such as retaliation, as was involved in Amick, The MOPERM policy here is more restrictive than the policy in Amick, and it does not contain the broad language from Amick relating to any wrongful acts committed by Pine Lawn. Rather, it specifically provides when and for what type of injury it will pay, and consistently maintains that it does not waive sovereign immunity beyond those areas specified by statute or for claims arising under workers' compensation or other disability laws. 23 Furthermore, the MOPERM policy specifically cites Missouri's sovereign-immunity statutes at §§ 537.600 and 537.610 that name the exceptions to sovereign immunity, including the purchase of insurance. The policy notes that liability will not be broadened beyond the limitations of those statutes. The policy also notes that MOPERM will not cover any obligation to which Pine Lawn may be held liable under any workers' compensation, unemployment compensation or disability benefits law or under any similar law. Appellant's App. at 344. The wrongful discharge statute under which Epps makes his claim is in the Missouri Workers Compensation Act. As such, we find that Pine Lawn is protected by sovereign immunity. 7