Anderson v. Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, 78-2457

• Decision Date: 20 May 1981
• Docket Number: No. 78-2457,78-2457
• Citation: 645 F.2d 401
• Parties: James L. ANDERSON, Jr., a Minor, by and through James H. Doss, Uncle and Next Friend, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 401

645 F.2d 401

James L. ANDERSON, Jr., a Minor, by and through James H Doss, Uncle and Next Friend, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 78-2457.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

May 20, 1981.

Roland C. Lewis, Jackson, Miss., for plaintiff-appellant.

Watkins & Eager, Thomas C. Gerity, Jackson, Miss., for defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Before THORNBERRY, ANDERSON and THOMAS A. CLARK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

This diversity appeal presents us with an opportunity for invoking the certification procedure authorized by rule of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. ¹ Because this case raises important questions concerning the scope of sovereign immunity in Mississippi, we defer decision in the cause and certify our questions to that Court.

Following our usual practice, we requested the parties to submit a proposed statement of facts and proposed agreed certificate of the questions for decision. They have been unable to agree, within the time requested, upon either the facts or questions to be certified. Mindful of the costs of delay that attend this procedure, we have prepared our own certificate. The certificate is based on our examination of the record on appeal and the contentions of the parties.

CERTIFICATE FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR

THE FIFTH CIRCUIT TO THE SUPREME COURT OF

MISSISSIPPI, PURSUANT TO RULE 46,

MISSISSIPPI SUPREME COURT RULES.

TO THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI AND THE HONORABLE JUSTICES THEREOF:

It appears to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that the above-styled case in this Court involves questions or propositions of the law of the State of Mississippi that are determinative of the cause, and there appear to be no clear controlling precedents in the decisions of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. This Court hereby certifies the following questions of law to the Supreme Court of Mississippi for instructions concerning said questions of law, based on the facts recited herein, pursuant to Rule 46, Mississippi Supreme Court Rules, as follows:

I. STYLE OF THE CASE

The style of the case in which this certificate is made is James L. Anderson, Jr., by and through James H. Doss, Uncle and Next Friend, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Defendant-Appellee, Case No. 78-2457, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, on appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Sometime in the first week of August, 1976, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority ("JMAA" or "the Authority") contracted with Southern Roofing and Metal Company, Inc., for the installation of roof drains in the terminal building of the Jackson Municipal Airport. Plaintiff Anderson, an Alabama resident, was an employee of Southern Roofing at the time. On August 9, 1976, while work was in progress, Anderson and a fellow employee were atop scaffolding that had been erected inside the terminal building when the plank on which they were standing broke. Both workers fell 18 feet to the floor below, and Anderson sustained the injuries for which he seeks to recover in this case.

Anderson alleges that the scaffolding was "supplied" to Southern Roofing for the use of its employees by JMAA and that the scaffolding was unsafe and defective. JMAA denies knowing who assembled the frame-and-platform scaffolding. However, JMAA admits that the scaffolding was its property, and that Southern Roofing's employees were using that scaffolding with the Authority's knowledge.

Prior to 1958 it appears to have been the rule in Mississippi that the operation and maintenance of an airport was a "corporate and not a governmental function," such that sovereign immunity would not bar an action against a city for it negligence in connection with the maintenance of an airport. Brummett v. City of Jackson, 211 Miss. 116, 51 So.2d 52, 53 (1951) (city could not relieve itself of liability for negligence by prior adoption of ordinance to that effect). In 1958, however, the Mississippi legislature enacted the Airport Authorities Law, 1958 Miss.Laws Ch. 230, Miss.Code Ann. § 61-3-1 et seq., and the Municipal Airport Law, 1958 Miss.Laws Ch. 513, Miss.Code Ann. § 61-5-1 et seq. The latter Act regulates the direct operation of airports by the municipalities served, whereas the former Act, the Airport Authorities Law, regulates the operation of municipal airports by public authorities that may be created for that purpose. The City of Jackson is served by airports operated by the JMAA, which was created under the Airport Authorities Law.

The Municipal Airport Law contains a provision, in § 16, Miss.Code Ann. § 61-5-47, that purports to overrule the decision in Brummett, supra, at least insofar as the liability of a municipality is concerned. ² There is no corresponding provision, nor is there any other express provision for tort immunity, in the Airport Authorities Law, under which the JMAA was organized.

The complaint was filed on August 23, 1977. On May 17, 1978, the trial court granted JMAA's motion for summary judgment on the ground that the Authority was immune from suit in tort under Mississippi law. This appeal followed.

Complicating matters somewhat, prior to the district court's decision, the Mississippi legislature enacted a law that expressly waives the immunity of an authority organized under the Airport Authorities Law in the circumstances of this case. ³ The amendment to the Airport Authorities Law now provides for immunity for "governmental" functions, "except that where the authority has liability insurance coverage as to any action brought against it, then such action may be maintained against such authority ...." ⁴

III. QUESTIONS FOR THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI ⁵

(1) Did the omission in the Airport Authorities Law of any provision for immunity in tort continue in effect the rule of law inferred from Brummett, supra, that an airport authority has no immunity from suit arising out of proprietary or corporate functions? If so, are allegations of supplying equipment for maintenance purposes sufficient to describe such functions?

(2) If the answers to the above questions are in the negative, of what effect on this case was the enactment of the amendment to § 61-3-15(b)? Specifically, does the amended § 61-3-15(b) authorize suits in tort for claims accruing prior to the amendment's enactment, subject only to statutes of limitations that are otherwise applicable? ⁶

The entire record in this case, together with copies of the briefs of the parties, are transmitted herewith. ⁷

CERTI...