Opinion ID: 2581880
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: immunity of uta employees

Text: Section 63-30-4(4) provides in relevant part: An employee may be joined in an action against a governmental entity in a representative capacity if the act or omission complained of is one for which the governmental entity may be liable, but no employee shall be held personally liable for acts or omissions occurring during the performance of the employee's duties ... unless it is established that the employee acted or failed to act due to fraud or malice. Utah Code Ann. § 63-30-4(4). ¶ 19 Plaintiffs complain that the above statute prohibits them from bringing suit against the bus driver for his alleged negligence in causing the accident that took the life of their son. They recognize that this court upheld the constitutionality of section 63-30-4(4) against a constitutional challenge under article I, section 11 in Payne v. Myers, 743 P.2d 186, 190 (Utah 1987). In that case, we upheld the constitutionality of that statute because while it prohibited the plaintiffs from suing the employees of the State, the Governmental Immunity Act waived the immunity of the State and allowed the plaintiffs to recover against the State for the negligence of the State's employees. Id. It is true, as pointed out by the plaintiffs in this case, that this court did not there discuss the reality that any recovery against the State would be subject to the damage caps, whereas in a suit against state employees there would not be that limitation on damages. ¶ 20 This issue was raised and decided in Lyon v. Burton, 2000 UT 19, 5 P.3d 616. In a split decision, this court upheld the constitutionality of section 63-30-4(4) even though the legislature had replaced the right to sue a state employee for unlimited damages with the right to sue the state for damages, albeit the damages recoverable were subject to the damage cap. Id. at ¶¶ 44-50. We decline to reconsider that decision now.