Court Opinion

ID: 9586607
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:13:16.855828+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:32:45.274204
License: Public Domain

Judge GREENE
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I
The plaintiff alleges three bases of recovery. First, under the Coleman theory the plaintiff essentially seeks to show that the defendant breached a promise to provide protection. Second, the plaintiff seeks to show defendant’s liability arising from defendant’s alleged breach of a duty arising from N.C.G.S. § 50B. Third, the plaintiff seeks to hold the defendant liable for negligent supervision or retention. On the first basis I concur with the majority. On the second basis I concur in the result, and on the third basis I dissent.
II
I disagree with the majority’s interpretation of N.C.G.S. § 50B. The majority opinion states: “None of these provisions, in our opinion, nor all of them collectively, make it the affirmative duty of a law enforcement agency to assist anyone threatened with domestic violence.” Section 50B-5, entitled “Emergency assistance” requires that, when called upon by a person alleging that he or she is the victim of domestic violence, a “law-enforcement agency shall respond to the request for assistance as soon as practicable . . . .” N.C.G.S. § 50B-5(a).
N.C.G.S. § 50B-5(b) states that an officer providing assistance pursuant to § 50B-5(a) may not “be held criminally or civilly liable on account of reasonable measures taken under authority of subsection (a).” Section 50B-5(b) does not eliminate liability where the officer acts unreasonably in his response or in his lack of response to a § 50B-5(a) request for emergency assistance. It is not necessary, as the majority suggests, as a prerequisite to imposition of liability, for the plaintiff to have sought and received a domestic violence order. Section 50B-5(a) operates to protect victims of domestic violence in emergency situations where no order has been issued. Section 50B-4(b) operates to protect victims of domestic violence where an order has been issued.
An emergency situation is presented when the victim is confronted with “[a]n unexpected ... or sudden occurrence of a serious and urgent nature that demands immediate action.” American *240Heritage Dictionary 488 (2d ed. 1976) (emphases added). Here the victim was not confronted with an emergency. The threats to her life occurred over a period of several days, and at the time of the attack she was no longer living under the constant threat of Billy Braswell’s (Billy’s) presence. Therefore, I concur with the majority that the trial court did not err in granting the defendant a directed verdict on this theory of recovery.
Ill
Regarding plaintiff’s third theory of recovery, the majority finds the asserted theory inapplicable since the evidence does not show that Billy used his service revolver to kill the victim. I disagree.
“The general rule is that the relationship of master and servant does not render the master liable for the torts of the servant unless connected with his duties as such servant, or within the scope or course of his employment.” McArthur Jersey Farm Dairy, Inc. v. Burke, 240 So.2d 198, 200 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1970); see O’Connor v. Corbett Lumber Corp., 84 N.C. App. 178, 182, 352 S.E.2d 267, 270 (1987) (employer responsible if act of employee was within scope of employment). However, as an exception to the general rule, the employer is liable for tortious conduct of an employee committed outside the scope of employment where:
(a) the employee is engaging in or shows a propensity to engage in conduct that is in its nature dangerous to members of the general public; (b) the employer has notice that the employee is acting or in all probability will act in a manner dangerous to other persons; (c) the employer has the ability to control the employee such as to substantially reduce the probability of harm to other persons; and (d) the other person must in fact have been injured by an act of the employee which could reasonably have been anticipated by the employer and which by exercising due diligence and authority over the employee the employer might reasonably have prevented.
240 So.2d at 201. This cause of action is outlined in the Restatement of Torts as follows:
§ 317. Duty of Master to Control Conduct of Servant
A master is under a duty to exercise reasonable care so to control his servant while acting outside the scope of his employment as to prevent him from intentionally harming others *241or from so conducting himself as to create an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to them, if
(a) the servant
(i) is upon the premises in possession of the master or upon which the servant is privileged to enter only as his servant, or
(ii) is using a chattel of the master, and
(b) the master
(i) knows or has reason to know that he has the ability to control his servant, and
(ii) knows or should know of the necessity and opportunity for exercising such control.
Restatement (Second) of Torts § 317 (1965). Furthermore:
There may be circumstances in which the only effective control which the master can exercise over the conduct of his servant is to discharge the servant. Therefore the master may subject himself to liability under the rule stated in this Section by retaining in his employment servants who, to his knowledge, are in the habit of misconducting themselves in a manner dangerous to others.
Id., at Comment c. See also Restatement (Second) of Agency § 213 (1958) (person acting through agents liable for harm resulting from his reckless or negligent supervision, or in failing to prevent tortious conduct by others using instrumentalities under his control); 53 Am. Jur. 2d Master and Servant § 422, at 436-38 (1970). This Court has previously recognized the viability of Restatement (Second) of Torts § 317 for determining the liability of employers for tortious conduct of employees committed outside the scope of employment. See O’Connor, 84 N.C. App. at 182-86, 352 S.E.2d at 270-72 (action for negligent hiring or retention).
The evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff reveals that: the victim was shot to death by Billy and was found in a ditch beside her car which was located alongside a public road in Pitt County; that at the time of the homicide, Billy was operating a patrol car entrusted to him by the defendant; that the defendant was aware that Billy had physically abused the victim in the past; that Billy was acting in a strange and peculiarly threatening man*242ner toward her at the time; and had written letters indicating intent to kill her. From this evidence a jury could find that Billy was showing a propensity to engage in conduct dangerous to the victim; that the defendant had notice of such conduct; and that the defendant could have, by refusing to provide him with a gun and patrol car or by discharging him from employment, reduced the probability of harm to the victim, in that the victim was in fact harmed in a manner that could have been anticipated and might reasonably have been prevented by the defendant.
Thus, I would hold that the trial court erred in directing a verdict for the defendant on this theory of recovery.