Court Opinion

ID: 9688952
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 18:14:17.250249+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:43.220030
License: Public Domain

HENDERSON, Justice
(concurring in part, dissenting in part).
In concurring with the majority opinion on the reversal aspect of this decision, the effect of which is to declare that there is a question of fact for a jury to determine the liability of the hospital on a dangerous condition of premises — where an invitee is injured (in this case, abducted, raped, and murdered) — see: my continuum of legal theory as reflected in a dissent in Mortenson v. Braley, 349 N.W.2d 444, 446 (S.D.1984); a special concurrence in Kryger v. Dokken, 386 N.W.2d 481, 484 (S.D.1986); and a special concurrence in Mitchell v. Ankney, 396 N.W.2d 312, 316 (S.D.1986).1 See also Nicholas v. Tri-State Fair & Sales Ass’n, 82 S.D. 450, 454-55, 148 N.W.2d 183, 185 (1967).
From Nicholas, we learn that possessors of land are liable for injuries incurred during the course of business, to the public at large, if the land is held open for business purposes. There is an obligation to visitors or invitees “to provide safe arrangements for the entrance and departure of people.” Nicholas, 82 S.D. at 455, 148 N.W.2d at 186 (citing Camp v. Wood, 76 N.Y. 92, 32 Am. Rep. 282 (1879); Gray v. First Nat’l Bank, 250 Minn. 539, 85 N.W.2d 668 (1957)). Teresa Small was a staff member, as was her mother, and she chose to leave her mother’s car at the parking ramp because the parking ramp was open to the public and, as so pertinent here, particularly, to *416the employees of the hospital. One of the obvious purposes of the ramp was to provide ingress and egress to parking facilities for its employees.
Canary’s deposition, inter alia, reflects his awareness of a state law which required that he assemble an adequate case history; purpose of same being to present adequate considerations to the Parole Board that it might determine if an inmate may safely be released to society or if continued confinement is required. Facts suggest that Canary failed to perform his statutory duty, under SDCL 24-15-1 and SDCL 24-15-2, in that the case history, which was prepared and sent to the Parole Board, was incomplete and inaccurate.2 Succinctly, the Board was not apprised of Blair’s violent tendencies.3
Concerning Parole Officer Kinder, he apparently met with Blair on one occasion for approximately five minutes on the day of Blair’s release. Blair, if he can be believed, testified that a parole officer never checked on him. There are repeated suggestions, in the depositions, that Blair violated various admonitions in his parole plan and yet he neither was chastised nor found in violation of the conditions of his parole. Kinder was apparently unaware regarding Blair’s employment status, and of Blair’s operation of an automobile in direct contravention of *417parole conditions. Neither did Kinder know, for he did not check, that Blair was to follow the rules of a certain “Glory House." During the argument of this case, before our Court at the State Capitol, one of the lawyers for the appellees made a startling statement that a monster was turned loose (Blair). I would add that this loosed monster was improperly supervised.4
It appears to me that the Board of Pardons and Paroles of this State undertook a statutory duty which it violated. It did not protect the public from a dangerous criminal and did not follow through, once it paroled Blair. Canary either knew, or should have known, that a person such as Rocky Blair was dangerous and likely to cause bodily harm to the general public if not properly controlled. His failure to fully inform the Parole Board of the character and tendencies of Rocky Blair was an obvious failure to perform his statutory duty. See SDCL §§ 24-15-1 and 24-15-2. Likewise, Kinder’s failure to properly supervise Blair was a breach of his duty. See note 4 and accompanying text, supra. Surely, regarding both Canary and Kinder, questions of fact exist as to whether or not they were negligent in the performance of their respective duties. See Grimm v. Arizona Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, 115 Ariz. 260, 270, 564 P.2d 1227, 1237 (1977); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 319 (1965). See also Aase v. State, 400 N.W.2d 269, 271 (S.D.1987) (Henderson, J., dissenting) (noting that summary judgment is improper when genuine issues of material fact exist).
Furthermore, what does “maximum supervision mean? If Blair, indeed, was placed on “maximum supervision status,” there should have been a maximum amount of supervision. If Kinder was not “taking charge” of Blair, then who did have charge of him for and on behalf of the citizens of the State of South Dakota?
I steadfastly maintain that Blair’s violent history, and turning him loose on the streets of Sioux Falls, carried with it a responsibility by public officials of this state to see that he was properly supervised. There is certainly a genuine issue of material fact as to whether these public officials violated their duty, lest a third person, like Teresa Small, an innocent young woman whose mission was simply to help her mother, could likely be the victim of bodily harm such as rape and murder. Indeed, had the public officials of this state exercised reasonable care, would Teresa Small be alive today? A jury in Minnehaha County should decide this and it should not be decided, on the strength of this record, by the trial court, in a fashion totally adverse to this deceased woman’s interest and in favor of the governmental unit. Under SDCL 24-15-1.1, “[tjhe prisoner remains an inmate under the legal custody of the department of charities and corrections until the expiration of his term of imprisonment.”
In closing, I do not believe that either Kinder or Canary can escape the dictates of the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 319, at 129 (1965), which provides: “One who takes charge of a third person whom he knows or should know to be likely to *418cause bodily harm to others if not controlled is under a duty to exercise reasonable care to control the third' person to prevent him from doing such harm.” I would reverse the circuit court’s grant of Summary Judgment as to Canary and Kinder and remand the entire case for trial.

. "As a general rule, the possessor of land owes an invitee or business visitor the duty of exercising reasonable or ordinary care for the benefit of the invitee's safety, and the possessor is liable for the breach of such duty.” Mitchell, 396 N.W.2d at 313 (citing Stenholtz v. Modica, 264 N.W.2d 514 (S.D.1978)). "This duty of reasonable and ordinary care requires keeping the property reasonably safe for the benefit , of the invitee.” Mitchell, 396 N.W.2d at 313 (emphasis in original) (citing Restatement (Second) of Torts § 343 comment b (1965)).

. The Executive Director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles is statutorily directed to compile "an adequate case history" of each defendant, SDCL 24-15-1, and “shall ... [a]dopt and implement a procedure ... to contain the life history of each inmate" and "[e]nlist the services of any sheriff, state’s attorney, circuit judge, or other officer who may have knowledge concerning each inmate, or circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime for which he was sentenced, or his previous history." SDCL 24-15-2. Canary’s “cut file" supplied to the Parole Board did not include:
(1) Official Statement from Second Judicial Circuit regarding Blair’s plea of guilty and subsequent sentencing for a 1976 robbery in the second degree. This statement contained a handwritten Addendum by Judge Braith-waite. It states: “I would be opposed to defendant being released in the minimum time. Unless he gets straightened out and some ability to earn money, he’ll be in trouble as soon as he gets out. /s/ Braithwaite, Judge.”
(2) A 1976 Report prepared by a Court Services Worker noting, inter alia, that Blair needed a “limiting and controlled] placement,” had "exhausted all available placements within the juvenile system,” and should be “handled as an adult.”
(3) Official Statement from Second Judicial Circuit concerning Blair’s 1977 attempted escape from jail and his accompanying damage to public property. A comment on the printed form under the heading "Disposition. Behavior While Awaiting Trial” reads: "attitude problem, all around troublemaker, agitator, fails to comply with orders.” Judge Braith-waite commented that Blair was “cocky” and “immature.”
(4) Official Statement from Second Judicial Circuit regarding charges of robbery in the first degree and kidnapping lodged against Blair in 1978 and his subsequent sentence of seven years for the robbery charge. A comment on the printed form under the heading “Disposition. Behavior While Awaiting Trial” reads: “Rocky has been a continued problem everytime he comes out of prison.”

. The majority states that it is unpersuaded by Grimm v. Arizona Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, 115 Ariz. 260, 564 P.2d 1227 (1977). I, however, find Grimm very persuasive. As the Grimm Court noted: ”[T]he State Board of Pardons and Paroles owe a duty to individual members of the general public when the Board decides to release on parole a prisoner with a history of violent and dangerous conduct toward his or her fellow human beings. The standard of care owed, however, is that of avoiding grossly negligent or reckless release of a highly dangerous prisoner." Id., 115 Ariz. at 267, 564 P.2d at 1234 (emphasis added). The Arizona Supreme Court added that “Board members voluntarily assumed responsibility for a highly dangerous person who could be paroled only by Board action. It is black letter tort law that while inaction is not normally a basis for liability, negligent performance of a duty voluntarily undertaken may be a basis for liability.” Grimm, 115 Ariz. at 267, 564 P.2d at 1234. See Ontiveros v. Borak, 136 Ariz. 500, 509, 667 P.2d 200, 209 (1983). See also Note, 46 Fordham L.Rev. 1301 (1978) (in which a perceptive discussion of the Grimm case appears). Because Canary, the Executive Director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, neglected to apprise the Parole Board of Blair’s violent tendencies, the Board was deprived of a full picture of the man they subsequently released upon society. It is my belief that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether Canary’s error rose to the level of gross negligence or recklessness and I submit summary judgment was improperly granted. See Aase v. State, 400 N.W.2d 269, 271 (S.D.1987) (Henderson, J., dissenting) (where a discussion of the premature use of summary judgment appears). See also Wilson v. Great N. Ry. Co., 83 S.D. 207, 157 N.W.2d 19 (1968).

. It is important to note that legal custody of a parolee remains in the warden of the penitentiary. SDCL 24-15-13. Upon release, a parolee is to be supervised by "officers and employees as may be necessary to accomplish the proper supervision of parolees_" SDCL 24-15-14 (emphasis supplied). Parole may be revoked if a parolee fails to abide by conditions of parole, fails to report to the correctional services office, refuses to answer inquiries made by the correctional services office, or if the purposes or objects of parole are not being met. SDCL 24-15-20. In this case, Blair, almost immediately upon his release from prison, violated conditions of his parole. Yet, Parole Officer Kinder’s lax supervision resulted in Blair’s numerous violations going unnoticed and unreported. Parole Officer Kinder had a duty to adequately supervise Blair’s parole. See Rieser v. District of Columbia, 563 F.2d 462, 475 (D.C.Cir.1977) (en banc). "Potential liability for the negligent performance of these duties will not deter parole officers from performing them, but rather will encourage conscientious performance.” Id. See also Note, 46 Fordham L.Rev. 1301 (1978) (where the author states that potential liability of public officers is part of a recent "notable trend to focus greater attention on the victims of crime.”) Id.