Opinion ID: 1627664
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: The City's Liability for Officer Lacey's and Chief Baker's Conduct

Text: Because the allegations relating to Officer Lacey and Chief Baker pertain to governmental functions, the City has sovereign immunity as a defense for these claims unless a waiver of immunity applies. Unlike Officer Ratliff's conduct, Officer Lacey's and Chief Baker's conduct does not fall under the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity in section 537.600.1(1). [25] But, the inquiry about whether the City is entitled to sovereign immunity from the allegations of respondeat superior liability stemming from these officers' conduct does not rest only upon consideration of section 537.600.1(1). Plaintiffs also argue that the City waived sovereign immunity for these claims by purchasing applicable liability insurance, but discovery as to the City's insurance coverage was not completed before summary judgment was entered against Plaintiffs. Without knowing more, this Court is unable determine if the City has insurance coverage that waives its immunity for the non-motor vehicle operations claims relating to Officer Lacey and Chief Baker. If the statutory waiver of immunity applies because of the City's insurance coverage, the City cannot escape liability simply because the defendant officers are immune. The public duty doctrine cannot be extended to provide the City protections from liability where there is a statutory waiver of immunity. And, regardless of whether a statutory waiver applies, the City cannot claim the protections of the officers' official immunity because the protections of that doctrine are personal to the officers. Davis, 193 S.W.3d at 765. The trial court's judgment that the City is fully immune from respondeat superior liability for Officer Lacey's and Chief Baker's conduct is reversed. On remand the court can consider if any statutory waiver of the City's sovereign immunity applies. If a waiver does apply, it will prevent the City from claiming derivative protections from the public duty doctrine for these claims.