Court Opinion

ID: 9778661
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 21:15:33.615621+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:12.448540
License: Public Domain

MILLIKEN, Judge (concurring).
I concur in the majority opinion because I think it fairly reflects the law as it is, but I rejoice in the minority opinion for calling attention to the harshness of the effects on unfortunate persons so often wrought by the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
The taking of private property for public use involves a deliberate, intentional act of the various units of government which are authorized to exercise the power of eminent domain and the law justly compensates the individual for the taking; but personal injuries to our citizens which are inflicted by governmental units or agencies are perhaps exclusively the result of negligence on the part of a governmental employee or officer.
As a result of their respective natures, the taking of property can be considered with its budgetary effect on the public treasury in mind, but a large judgment against a local school board, for example, for the negligence of an employee might very well result in closing the schools in that school district if the judgment were collectible by execution.
Because of the budgetary dangers and the many unforeseeable side effects inherent in judicial withdrawal of the defense of sovereign immunity from the sundry governmental units of the state, (as distinguished from the State government itself) which have so long operated within its protection, I adhere to the established law as expressed in the majority opinion, but I do believe that some comprehensive legislation is possible to soften the harsh results to the victims of the wrongful acts of these protected governmental units by authorizing the purchase of liability insurance by them and permitting limited recovery, within the terms of the policies for injuries inflicted by their wrongful acts.