Clarke v. Christy

• Decision Date: 12 July 2010
• Docket Number: A09A2340.,No. A09A2339,A09A2339
• Citation: Clarke v. Christy, 302 Ga.App. 831, 692 S.E.2d 80 (Ga. App. 2010)
• Parties: CLARKEv.FREEMAN et al.Christyv.Freeman et al.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

302 Ga.App. 831

692 S.E.2d 80

CLARKE

v.FREEMAN et al.

Christy

v.Freeman et al.

Nos. A09A2339, A09A2340.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 15, 2010.

Certiorari Denied July 12, 2010.

Scherffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres, Andrew M. Scherffius III, Gregory R. Feagle, Atlanta, Kam, Ebersbach & Lewis, Randy J. Ebersbach, Newnan, for appellants.

Cruser & Mitchell, William T. Mitchell, Karen E. Woodward, Norcross, Doffermyre, Shields, Canfield, Knowles & Devine, Ralph I. Knowles, Jr., Sheryl L. McCalla, Atlanta, Freeman, Mathis & Gary, Theodore Freeman, Jack R. Hancock, Forest Park, Pamela F. Everett, Atlanta, Daley, Koster & LaVallee, Matthew R. Lavallee, Robert D. Ware, Meka B. Ward, Atlanta, for appellees.

DOYLE, Judge.

This case arises from the events of March 11, 2005, when Brian Nichols escaped Fulton County deputies while awaiting trial at the Fulton County Courthouse and killed several individuals, including Judge Rowland Barnes, before surrendering in the suburbs north of Atlanta.AppellantsSusan Christy and Gina Clarke(collectively “the Appellants”), who worked as case manager and assistant case manager to Judge Barnes at the time of the incident, instituted these suits against Fulton County SheriffMyron Freeman and various other individuals, which suits we have consolidated for the purposes of appeal.The trial court granted the defendants' motions to dismiss the suits, and we now reverse, for the reasons that follow.

We review de novo a grant of a motion to dismiss a complaint,¹ understanding that

[a]motion to dismiss should not be granted unless it appears to a certainty that the plaintiff would be entitled to no relief under any state of facts which could be proved in support of his claim.All facts in the pleadings are to be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff with all doubts resolved in his favor even though unfavorable constructions are possible.²

Taking the Appellants' pleadings as true, at the time of the events in question, DefendantMyron Freeman was the Fulton County Sheriff, DefendantLucious D. Johnson was a Major in the Jail Division of the Fulton County Sheriff's Department(“the Department”), DefendantChelisa Lee was a Captain in the Court Services Section of the Department, Defendant Twantta Clerk-Mathis was a Captain in the Court Services Section of the Department, DefendantJerome Dowdell was a Sergeant in the Training Division of the Department, DefendantGrantley White was a Sergeant in the Court Services Section of the Department, ³DefendantPaul Tamer was a Deputy Sheriff III in the Court Services Section of the Department, and DefendantAlphonso Wright was a Civilian-Security Specialist in the Court Services Section of the Department.

In 2004, Brian Nichols was charged with rape, aggravated assault, and burglary, and his second trial on those charges was set to begin on March 7, 2005.In February 2005, Defendant Dowdell was informed of threats made by Nichols that he was planning to overpower a deputy, take the deputy's weapon, and escape.Although Dowdell alerted Officer Jenkins of the Court Services Division of the Department of the threat, he did not inform Jenkins of the specifics of what he learned and merely told the officer that Nichols threatened to “act out” if the verdict did not go his way.Dowdell also failed to follow numerous Department procedures after learning of Nichols's threat, which would have increased security around Nichols; however, Dowdell met with Nichols at the County Jail and told him “not to do anything stupid.”

Officer Jenkins informed Deputy Rene of Nichols's threat to “act out,” which Rene announced at the Courthouse Officers' roll call on February 25, 2005.DefendantChelisa Lee was present at the roll call, as was DefendantGrantley White, who was Rene's supervisor and who was assigned to Judge Barnes's courtroom.White questioned Rene further about the threat and was directed to Jenkins by Deputy Rene; Jenkins directed White to Dowdell.Dowdell did not tell White about the specifics of Nichols's threat when White questioned him about it.

Defendant White and Deputy Jenkins spoke to Defendant Lee about Nichols's threat, but Lee failed to follow proper Department procedures regarding such information (such as increasing security around Nichols) or to investigate the threat.She also failed to report the information to her superior officers or to the members of her staff, including Deputy Gary Reid, who was responsible for security in Barnes's courtroom.

On March 9, 2005, as Nichols's trial was proceeding, Deputy Jenkins discovered a homemade metal weapon on Nichols while at the courthouse.When Nichols was transported back to the jail, another deputy submitted the recovered weapon to Defendant Clerk-Mathis, who was the Acting Watch Commander that evening.Although Defendant Clerk-Mathis noted the confiscation in the Watch Commander log, she failed to report the contraband to her superior and failed to follow numerous Department procedures such as assigning to Nichols specific prisoner designations or classifications, investigating the matter further, or maintaining the proper chain of custody over the weapon.

Defendant Johnson oversaw daily jail operations on March 10, 2005, and he reviewed the Watch Commander log containing Defendant Clerk-Mathis's entry regarding the weapon confiscated from Nichols; however, Defendant Johnson failed to follow numerous Department procedures regarding investigation of the weapon or remedial action regarding Nichols.

Deputy Jenkins reported his discovery of Nichols's weapon to Defendant Lee on the evening of March 9.On March 10, Lee also was provided with a copy of a report regarding the weapon, but at the courthouse roll call, Defendant Lee failed to disseminate thorough or specific information regarding confiscation of Nichols's weapon to courthouse officers, and she merely gave the officers a general warning to be careful.Lee failed to increase security or take other steps regarding Nichols and failed to follow numerous department procedures regarding the issue.

On the morning of March 11, 2005, Deputy Gary Reid, who was the unit manager for the eighth floor (on which floor Judge Barnes's courtroom was located) and who was responsible for security on that floor, was absent from work.In addition to Reid's violation of Department policy by misusing sick leave and by failing to take appropriate action to ensure sufficient security coverage on the eighth floor, Reid's supervisor, Defendant Lee (who was notified of Reid's absence that morning), did not take proper steps to direct replacement security to Reid'spost.

Later that morning, as Nichols was transported by a single deputy from the detention area of the courthouse to Judge Barnes's courtroom (in violation of Department policy that required two deputies to transport prisoners to that wing of the courthouse), Defendant Lee sent Defendant Wright (who was assigned to Central Control ⁴ as a Security Specialist) to get her breakfast.This action left only one individual staffing Central Control, in violation of Department policy.

Defendants Tamer and Wright were assigned to Central Control on the morning of March 11 and were responsible for reconfiguring the security camera feeds from overnight views of building entrances and exits to internal locations, such as holding cells, detention areas, and corridors.Additionally, Tamer and Wright were responsible for keeping Central Control manned with at least two individuals at all times.Tamer and Wright failed to reconfigure the surveillance system, and the two were absent from Central Control when Nichols overpowered Deputy Cynthia Hall in the eighth floor holding cell, which would have appeared on the Central Control video feed if properly configured.In addition to Defendant Lee's violation of policy in sending Defendant Wright away from Central Control to get her breakfast, Defendant Tamer then left Central Control without any staff to monitor the cameras or alarms.Moreover, neither Defendant Wright nor Defendant Tamer notified their superiors that they were leaving their posts at Central Control.

Defendant Freeman is charged with attending (personally or through a deputy) all sessions of the Superior Court of Fulton County.On March 11, 2005, Defendant Freeman had delegated to Defendant White the responsibility of attending court sessions in Judge Barnes's courtroom; however, White left the courtroom to get breakfast prior to Nichols's case.White did not notify any supervisor that he would be leaving the courtroom unattended by a representative of the Sheriff and did not take action to have the courtroom secured during his absence, violating a number of Department policies.

After overpowering Deputy Cynthia Hall and taking her gun, Nichols proceeded to Judge Barnes's chambers, where he encountered the Appellants.He pointed the gun at the two women and ordered them into the Judge's chambers, where they secretly pressed the distress alarm, which activated a loud sound in Central Control and a visual notification on the video monitors there.Because Defendants Wright and Tamer had left Central Control unmanned, no one was available to respond to the alarm.Additionally, when Defendant Tamer thereafter discovered the alarm signal, he failed to immediately dispatch assistance to the chambers.

After threatening to kill the Appellants and then handcuffing them, Nichols left the Judge's chambers and proceeded into the Judge's courtroom, shooting and killing Judge Barnes and court reporter Julie Ann Brandau.

The Appellants filed complaints and amended complaints, asking for special, general, and punitive damages arising from the false imprisonment, assault, and infliction of emotional distress ⁵ that occurred on March 11 when they encountered Nichols, and alleging that the facts above constituted wilful, wanton, or malicious negligence or reckless misconduct and breach of the...