Day v. State ex rel. Utah Dept. of Public Safety

• Citation: 980 P.2d 1171
• Decision Date: 11 May 1999
• Docket Number: No. 940583,940583
• Parties: 369 Utah Adv. Rep. 14, 1999 UT 46 Mary DAY, Plaintiff, Petitioner, and Cross-Respondent, v. STATE of Utah, by and through the UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; the Utah Highway Patrol; Ken Colyar; Salem City Corporation, a municipal corporation of the State of Utah; Brad James; Spanish Fork City Corporation, a municipal corporation of the State of Utah; Ed Asay; Public Entities 1-3; and John Does 1-8, and Cross-Petitioners.
• Court: Supreme Court of Utah

Page 1171

980 P.2d 1171

369 Utah Adv. Rep. 14, 1999 UT 46

Mary DAY, Plaintiff, Petitioner, and Cross-Respondent, v. STATE of Utah, by and through the UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; the Utah Highway Patrol; Ken Colyar; Salem City Corporation, a municipal corporation of the State of Utah Brad James; Spanish Fork City Corporation, a municipal corporation of the State of Utah; Ed Asay; Public Entities 1-3; and John Does 1-8, and Cross-Petitioners.

No. 940583.

Supreme Court of Utah.

May 11, 1999.

Larry R. Keller, Craig L. Boorman, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Jan Graham, Att'y Gen., Carol Clawson, Solicitor Gen., Debra Moore, Asst. Att'y Gen., for defendants.

STEWART, Justice:

¶1 Mary Day brought this action against the State of Utah, the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), a UHP officer, and several municipalities and law enforcement officers they employed for personal injuries to herself and the wrongful death of her husband. The injuries and death resulted from the collision of the Days' automobile with an automobile driven by sixteen-year-old Stephen Edward Floyd. Floyd was fleeing from UHP Officer Ken Colyar, who initiated the pursuit to cite Floyd for driving ten miles per hour over the speed limit.

¶2 This case is here on a writ of certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals to review that court's affirmance of a trial court's summary judgment against plaintiff on the ground that her claims for severe personal injuries and the death of her husband were barred by a now repealed provision of the Utah Governmental Immunity Act and that that abrogation of a remedy for her injuries and her husband's death did not violate Article I, section 11, the "open courts" provision of the Utah Constitution. See Day v. State, 882 P.2d 1150 (Utah Ct.App.1994). The Court of Appeals' panel that decided this case suggested that this Court grant Day's petition for a writ of certiorari to answer important questions of law. The State filed a conditional cross-petition for a writ of certiorari asking this Court, if it granted Day's petition, to also grant a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' ruling that a police officer who undertakes a high-speed chase of a fleeing misdemeanant owes a duty of due care to other persons using the highway. We granted both petitions.

I. FACTS

¶3 On March 18, 1991, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Officer Colyar was parked just off Interstate 15 near Santaquin, Utah, to monitor traffic. With a radar gun he clocked a northbound black 1982 Buick at 75 miles per hour, ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit. Intending only to stop the vehicle and issue a citation for speeding, Officer Colyar pulled onto I-15 and drove up behind the vehicle. Floyd, the driver of the vehicle, increased his speed and exited I-15 at Santaquin. Ignoring a stop sign, he turned onto a two-lane highway and proceeded, at times in heavy traffic and at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, through the towns of Springville, Payson, Salem, and Spanish Fork, Utah. Officer Colyar followed in close pursuit. At least two other local law enforcement officers joined the chase through several populated areas in the towns and villages at speeds far in excess of posted limits. Floyd and Officer Colyar wove in and out between cars in heavy traffic in both the southbound and northbound lanes, passing cars on both the left and the right and forcing several cars off the road. Local police officers Brad James and Ed Asay unsuccessfully attempted to block Floyd's way and later joined in the pursuit.

¶4 At one point, Floyd drove onto a freeway entrance ramp with Officer Colyar close behind and collided with a semi-trailer truck. Floyd's vehicle spun almost 240 degrees around and temporarily came to a stop. Officer Colyar also stopped, but he neither drew his gun nor attempted to disable Floyd's vehicle; however, he was close enough to read the vehicle's license plate. Floyd eluded Officer Colyar and again entered the freeway with Officer Colyar in pursuit through heavy traffic and at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. Floyd entered an off-ramp at high speed, ran a red light while driving at approximately 60 miles per hour, and collided with the Day vehicle and three other vehicles.

¶5 Mr. Day died immediately, and Mrs. Day suffered numerous serious injuries. She was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure, fractures in her ankle, hip, and ribs, various abrasions, and trauma. She lay in a coma for several hours. The impact of the collision also aggravated previously existing medical conditions, including cancer and osteoporosis.

¶6 Mrs. Day brought this suit against the State of Utah, by and through the Utah Department of Public Safety; the UHP; Officer Colyar; and unnamed public entities and John Does for the wrongful death of her husband and for her injuries. In her first amended complaint, she also named Salem City Corporation, Officer Brad James, Spanish Fork City Corporation, and Officer Ed Asay as defendants.

¶7 Plaintiff and defendants filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court entered summary judgment against plaintiff and in favor of all defendants. The Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling that (1) Officer Colyar owed a tort duty of due care to plaintiff and other users of the highway, but (2) the action was barred under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act and (3) the relevant provisions of the Act were not unconstitutional under the Open Courts, Due Process, or Equal Protection provisions, i.e., Article I, sections 8, 11, and 22, of the Utah Constitution. See Day v. State, 882 P.2d 1150 (Utah Ct.App.1994). Only these three rulings, as they involve the State and the UHP, are now before this Court. Day does not challenge the Court of Appeals' ruling affirming summary judgment in favor of the municipalities and the law enforcement officers.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶8 The issues before the Court are questions of law that we review for correctness. We accord no deference to the legal decisions of the lower court. See Ferree v. State, 784 P.2d 149, 151 (Utah 1989); Bushnell Real Estate, Inc. v. Nielson, 672 P.2d 746, 749 (Utah 1983).

III. DUTY OF POLICE OFFICER TO THIRD PERSONS WHILE EFFECTUATING ARREST

¶9 We first consider the issue raised by the State's cross-petition for certiorari: Whether the Motor Vehicle Code imposes on a police officer engaged in pursuit of a suspect a duty of care to third parties on the highway. The Court of Appeals held that such a duty does exist. See Day, 882 P.2d at 1154. It addressed the duty issue first on the principle that a case should be decided on non-constitutional grounds if possible and that constitutional issues should be addressed only when necessary. See World Peace Movement v. Newspaper Agency Corp., 879 P.2d 253, 257 (Utah 1994); State v. Thurman, 846 P.2d 1256, 1262 (Utah 1993). We take the same approach.

¶10 In a personal injury case involving a defense of governmental immunity such as this case, we generally decide first whether the defendant owed a duty of due care to the plaintiff before deciding whether the defendant is entitled to the affirmative defense of governmental immunity. See Rollins v. Petersen, 813 P.2d 1156, 1162 & n. 3 (Utah 1991). On numerous occasions, this Court has held that certain government agencies and their employees owed no duty of care to the plaintiffs, even though such government agencies had a general duty to further and protect the public's health, safety, and welfare. In such cases, the immunity issue was not reached because the plaintiffs failed to make out prima facie cases of negligence. See Ferree, 784 P.2d at 152-53; Ledfors v. Emery County Sch. Dist., 849 P.2d 1162, 1164 (Utah 1993). By distinguishing between an absence of duty of due care on the part of a government agency to an injured person and the affirmative defense of governmental immunity, a court can more clearly define the scope of each body of law and the policies that underlie them. If Officer Colyar owed no duty of care to the Days, there can be no prima facie case of negligence as a matter of law, and immunity would be immaterial. See Rocky Mt. Thrift Stores, Inc. v. Salt Lake City Corp., 887 P.2d 848, 852 (Utah 1994); Rollins, 813 P.2d at 1162 & n. 3; see also Duncan v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 842 P.2d 832, 836 n. 1 (Utah 1992) (Stewart, J., dissenting).

¶11 The State denies that it or Officer Colyar owed a duty of care to the Days. It relies on the position that the State's "public duties" cannot be the basis for a tort duty of due care that runs to specific individuals who are harmed by governmental action. The law states, "For a governmental agency and its agents to be liable for negligently caused injury suffered by a member of the public, the plaintiff must show a breach of a duty owed him as an individual, not merely the breach of an obligation owed to the general public at large by the governmental official." Ferree, 784 P.2d at 151. The State denies that it owes any duty of care to third persons who are injured by a collision with one fleeing arrest, irrespective of the reason for the pursuit.

¶12 The public duty doctrine provides that although a government entity owes a general duty to all members of the public, that duty does not impose a specific duty of due care on the government with respect to individuals who may be harmed by governmental action or inaction, unless there is some specific connection between the government agency and the individuals that makes it reasonable to impose a duty. See, e.g., DeBry v. Noble, 889 P.2d 428, 440 n. 12 (Utah 1995); Madsen v. Borthick, 850 P.2d 442, 444 (Utah 1993); South v. Maryland, 59 U.S. (18 How.) 396, 15 L.Ed. 433 (1855).

¶13 At least four circumstances may give rise to a special relationship between the government and specific individuals. ¹ A special relationship can be established (1) by a statute intended to protect a specific class of persons of which the plaintiff is a member from a particular...