Opinion ID: 901057
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Highway Repair and Maintenance

Text: [¶ 22.] This Court has considered whether highway repair and maintenance functions are discretionary or ministerial in nature on prior occasions. See Arms v. Minnehaha County, 69 S.D. 164, 7 N.W.2d 722 (1943) (governmental immunity applied to an accident involving a snow plow); High-Grade Oil Co., Inc. v. Sommer, 295 N.W.2d 736 (S.D.1980) (sovereign immunity applies to design of a highway); Smith v. Greek, 328 N.W.2d 261 (S.D.1982) (whether sovereign immunity applies to DOT engineers should have been determined based upon whether their function was ministerial or discretionary); Bryant v. Butte County, 457 N.W.2d 467 (S.D. 1990) (county's duty to adequately maintain county roads was ministerial not discretionary); Wilson, 473 N.W.2d 492 (state is immune from suit arising from the construction and maintenance of highways); Bland v. Davison County, 507 N.W.2d 80 (S.D.1993) ( Bland I) (county could be liable for allowing a dangerous condition arising from snow and ice, to continue for an unreasonable time); Bland v. Davison County, 1997 SD 92, 566 N.W.2d 452 (S.D. 1997) ( Bland II) (it was a jury question as to whether it was reasonable for county to knowingly leave an icy patch of road unsanded); and Hansen, 1998 SD 109 at ¶ 23, 584 N.W.2d at 886 (the duties of the Secretary of the DOT who supervised hundreds of employees and thousands of miles of highways were discretionary because highway repair, while usually considered ministerial, could be discretionary under some circumstances). [¶ 23.] This Court held that the state is immune from suits arising from highway construction and maintenance unless it has waived sovereign immunity. Wilson, 473 N.W.2d at 495. However, this Court has also held that highway repair is generally considered to be ministerial in nature: The view has also been expressed that the distinction between discretionary and ministerial acts is often one of degree, since any official act that is ministerial will still require the actor to use some discretion in its performance. And, under particular circumstances, even a task or function usually considered ministerial-for example ... highway repair may actually involve the exercise of discretion. (emphasis supplied). Hansen, 1998 SD 109 at ¶ 23, 584 N.W.2d at 886 (quoting 63C Am.Jur.2d Public Officers and Employees § 327 at 775-776 (1997)). [¶ 24.] We have not addressed the specific issue of whether snow and ice removal is a discretionary or ministerial function of government. [4] Other states have reached differing results on the issue of snow and ice removal. Shepard v. State Dept. of Roads, 214 Neb. 744, 336 N.W.2d 85 (1983) (it is the duty of the state to use reasonable and ordinary care in the construction, maintenance and repair of its highways, including snow removal, so that they are safe for travelers using them while exercising reasonable and ordinary care and prudence); Hansen v. State, 528 N.W.2d 547 (Iowa, 1995) (the state and municipalities are immune from tort liability for failure to remove snow and ice as long as they have complied with established policies); Koen v. Tschida, 493 N.W.2d 126 (Minn.App. 1992) (under Minnesota's weather immunity statute the government is immune from claims based on snow or ice conditions which were not affirmatively caused by the actions of the government); In Re Alexandria Accident of Feb. 8, 1994, 561 N.W.2d 543 (Minn.App.1997) (statutory immunity protects planning decisions which involve questions of public policy and receive protection as discretionary decisions, but does not protect operational decisions which relate to the day-to-day operation of government); Lane v. State, 811 A.2d 190 (Vt. 2002) (the decision as to whether to close a road due to inclement weather or erect warning signs is discretionary but the state does have a duty to act when it has actual or constructive warning of a defect and a reasonable amount of time to correct it). Many of these decisions, however, are based upon specific state statutes.