Court Opinion

ID: 9564709
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:05:46.262651+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:37.712522
License: Public Domain

Eldridge, Judge,
dissenting in part.
Respectfully, I am compelled to dissent in part, because I feel that the grant of summary judgment to the Sheriff of Brooks County and Deputy Rowe should be reversed, because their acts were ministerial in nature and they were not protected by sovereign immunity or official immunity since they were not employees of the county.
Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX of the 1983 Const, of Ga. was amended by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2435, § 1, which became after ratification the 1991 amendment. The 1991 amendment reads in part: “Except as specifically provided by the General Assembly in a State Tort Claims Act, all officers and employees of the state or its departments and agencies may be subject to suit and may be liable for injuries and damages caused by the negligent performance of, or negligent failure to perform, their ministerial functions and may be liable for injuries and damages if they act with actual malice or with actual intent to cause injury in the performance of their official functions. Except as provided in this subparagraph, officers and employees of the state or its *896departments and agencies shall not be subject to suit or liability, and no judgment shall be entered against them, for the performance or nonperformance of their official functions.” (Emphasis supplied.) Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744, 746-747 (2) (452 SE2d 476) (1994) held that the 1991 amendment applied to counties, as well as to the State. See also Woodard v. Laurens County, 265 Ga. 404, 405 (1) (456 SE2d 581) (1995). Thus, the 1991 amendment and Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 752-754, make county employees or the sheriff liable for the negligent performance of ministerial duties in their official capacities.
However, the sheriff is not an employee of a county, because his or her duties are separate and independent from the county as a governmental entity. The sheriff is not an entity of the State, either as an agency or department. Thomas v. Hosp. Auth. of Clarke County, 264 Ga. 40 (440 SE2d 195) (1994). The sheriff is a county officer; however, the sheriff is independent of and not answerable to the governing authorities of the county. See 1983 Ga. Const., Art. IX, Sec. I, Par. III. The duties and function of the office of sheriff are defined by statute or common law. OCGA § 15-16-1 et seq. “The office of sheriff carries with it all of its common-law duties and powers, except as modified by statute.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Warren v. Walton, 231 Ga. 495-500 (202 SE2d 405) (1973); see also Wayne County v. Herrin, 210 Ga. App. 747, 753 (3) (437 SE2d 793) (1993). The sheriff and deputies have been held liable on a bond for the faithful performance of their duties since statehood. OCGA §§ 15-6-5; 15-6-6; 15-16-23.
In dicta, Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 754, recognized that the sheriff individually lacked sovereign immunity in his own name because he is not a subdivision of the state or an agency: “In conclusion, [the sheriff] may not claim the benefit of [the deputy’s] official immunity defense. Because he is being sued in his official capacity, he is entitled to the benefit of [the county’s] sovereign immunity defense. Since, however, the county has waived sovereign immunity to the extent of its liability insurance coverage, [the sheriff’s] sovereign immunity defense is likewise waived to that extent.” Thus, a sheriff in his official capacity has no sovéreign immunity of his own and can be held liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior for employees’ acts or omissions in their official capacity, except where protected by his own official immunity. See Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 752-754; Lowe v. Jones County, 231 Ga. App. 372 (499 SE2d 348) (1998); Seay v. Cleveland, 228 Ga. App. 836 (493 SE2d 30) (1997); Brown v. Jackson, 221 Ga. App. 200, 201 (2) (470 SE2d 786) (1996).
Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 746-747 held that sovereign immunity applies to counties as well as county employees. However, *897the Sheriff of Brooks County and his employees are not Brooks County employees but are the employees of the sheriff. “Since deputy sheriffs are employed by the sheriff rather than the county, sheriffs may be liable in their official capacity for a deputy’s negligence in performing an official function.” Id. at 754. “Deputy sheriffs and deputy jailors are employees of the sheriff, whom the sheriffs alone are entitled to appoint or discharge. (Cit.) They have no duties save alone duties of the sheriff, which as his deputy and his agent they are by law authorized to perform. The sheriff, and not the county, is liable for the misconduct of his deputies. . . . Therefore, the [Brooks] County Sheriff, and not [Brooks] County, would have been the proper party to have sued under a theory of respondeat superior.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Brown v. Jackson, supra at 201; see also Lowe v. Jones County, supra; Wayne County v. Herrin, supra at 751. Since the Sheriff of Brooks County is being sued in a respondeat superior capacity, then he does not have the sovereign immunity of Brooks County. Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 754; see also Brown v. Jackson, supra; Wayne County v. Herrin, supra.
Such acts of alleged negligence by Deputy Rowe, dealing with natural occurrences, fall within ministerial duties, not requiring the exercise of discretion to: (1) furnish immediate notice to the appropriate county agency that can take action; (2) warn the public using that road of the danger by any available means; and (3) temporarily close the road as impassible. Any county employee should have been able to perform such task for the general safety of the public and should have done so under the circumstances without orders from a superior as a ministerial function. This is a case wherein the deputy was on the site of the hazard and failed to do anything to either warn the public or to notify other governmental agencies so that they could act. Such ministerial failure led to successive and repeated car wrecks at the same location of the washed-out roadway, resulting in the wreck of two cars and two trucks with one death. Here, there was a gross dereliction of duty to protect the general public from danger.
The acts and omissions of the sheriff and his deputy were not discretionary acts; I believe that such acts were ministerial or that there existed a jury question as to whether or not the acts were ministerial. “The doctrine of official immunity, developed primarily in Georgia through case law, provides that while a public officer or employee may be personally liable for his negligent ministerial acts, he may not be held liable for his discretionary acts unless such acts are wilful, wanton, or outside the scope of his authority. [Cits.] . . . We interpret the term ‘official functions’ to mean any act performed within the officer’s or employee’s scope of authority, including both ministerial and discretionary acts. Under this, definition, the 1991 amendment [Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX (d)] provides *898no immunity for ministerial acts negligently performed or for ministerial or discretionary acts performed with malice or an intent to injure. It, however, does provide immunity for the negligent performance of discretionary acts, which is consistent with prior law. . . . Thus, . . . private employers could be liable for the negligent acts of their employees, despite the employees’ immunity from liability. [Cits.] Following this rule, we hold that the official immunity of a public employee does not protect a governmental entity from liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior. A county may be liable for a county employee’s negligence in performing an official function to the extent the county has waived sovereign immunity. [Cits.]” Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 752-754.
“Whether the acts upon which liability is predicated are ministerial or discretionary is determined by the facts of the particular case. Nelson v. Spalding County, 249 Ga. 334, 336 (2) (a) (290 SE2d 915) (1982).” Woodard v. Laurens County, 265 Ga. 404, 407 (2) (456 SE2d 581) (1995). Thus, the sheriff is liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior for the acts and omissions of his deputies, even if they, themselves, are immune from liability for discretionary acts. Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 754; Brown v. Jackson, supra at 201; Wayne County v. Herrin, supra at 751.
“A ministerial act is commonly one that is simple, absolute, and definite, arising under conditions admitted or proved to exist, and requiring merely the execution of a specific duty. A discretionary act, however, calls for the exercise of personal deliberation and judgment, which in turn entails examining the facts, reaching reasoned conclusions, and acting on them in a way not specifically directed.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Joyce v. Van Arsdale, 196 Ga. App. 95, 96 (395 SE2d 275) (1990); accord Gregory v. Cardenaz, 198 Ga. App. 697, 698 (402 SE2d 757) (1991). There is no evidence that the sheriff or deputies were “invested with a degree of discretion in determining how to respond to [the hazard].” Gregory v. Cardenaz, supra at 698.
The methods of posting a warning or closing a public road are ministerial functions. Joyce v. Van Arsdale, supra at 97; see also Nelson v. Spalding County, 249 Ga. 334, 336 (2) (a) (290 SE2d 915) (1982); Mathis v. Nelson, 79 Ga. App. 639, 642 (54 SE2d 710) (1949). Thus, in temporarily closing the road, putting out warnings on the road of the hazard, or notifying the appropriate county agency, the deputy would be performing a ministerial function as a public servant.
Riddle v. Ashe, 269 Ga. 65 (495 SE2d 287) (1998) deals with a state employee and not a county employee within the ambit of OCGA § 50-21-25 (a), the Georgia Tort Claims Act. OCGA § 50-21-22 (5) expressly excludes counties from the ambit of the act. Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 747. Thus, Riddle v. Ashe, supra, in no way defines *899the scope of the county employee’s official duties when OCGA § 50-21-20 et seq. is construed as to state employees. See Gilbert v. Richardson, supra; Woodard v. Laurens County, supra. Instead, Gilbert v. Richardson, supra, has held that official immunity does not arise when ministerial acts are done within the scope of the county employee’s official duties; otherwise, the acts would be personal and not ministerial. “We interpret the term ‘official functions’ to mean any act performed within the officer’s or employee’s scope of authority, including both ministerial and discretionary acts. Under this definition, the 1991 amendment provides no immunity for ministerial acts negligently performed or for ministerial or discretionary acts performed with malice or an intent to injure.” Gilbert v. Richardson, supra at 753. There is no way in which Riddle v. Ashe, supra, leaves such language for further construction as contended by the majority.
Decided March 20, 1998
Reconsideration denied April 2, 1998
Evans & Evans, Larry K. Evans, Samuel F. Greneker, Barry R. Chapman, for appellants.
Long & Denton, Allen D. Denton, Chambless, Higdon & Carson, Thomas F. Richardson, Jon C. Wolfe, Freeman, Mathis & Gary, Theodore Freeman, Hollberg, Weaver & Kytle, George M. Weaver, for appellees.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Pope and Judge Johnson join in this opinion.