Estate of Graves v. Circleville

• Decision Date: 28 January 2010
• Docket Number: No. 2009-0014.,2009-0014.
• Citation: 922 N.E.2d 201,124 Ohio St.3d 339,2010 Ohio 168
• Parties: ESTATE OF GRAVES, Appellee, v. CITY OF CIRCLEVILLE; Shaw et al., Appellants.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

922 N.E.2d 201

124 Ohio St.3d 339

2010-Ohio-168

ESTATE OF GRAVES, Appellee, v. CITY OF CIRCLEVILLE; Shaw et al., Appellants.

No. 2009-0014.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted November 3, 2009.

Decided January 28, 2010.

Cooper & Elliott, L.L.C., Rex H. Elliott, Charles H. Cooper Jr., Columbus, and John C. Camillus, for appellee.

Mazanec, Raskin, Ryder & Keller Co., L.P.A., John T. McLandrich, James A. Climer, and Frank H. Scialdone, for appellants.

Joseph M. Hegedus, urging reversal for amicus curiae Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

Subashi & Wildermuth, Brian L. Wildermuth, and Halli J. Brownfield, Dayton, urging reversal for amicus curiae Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys.

Isaac, Brant, Ledman and Teetor, L.L.P., Mark Landes, and Andrew N. Yosowitz, Columbus, urging reversal for amici curiae County Commissioners' Association of Ohio, Ohio School Boards Association, Public Children Services Association of Ohio, Ohio Job and Family Services Directors' Association of Ohio, County Risk Sharing Authority, Ohio Township Association, and Ohio Association of Behavioral Health Authorities.

Kitrick, Lewis & Harris Co., L.P.A., and Mark M. Kitrick, Columbus, urging affirmance for amicus curiae Ohio Association for Justice.

O'CONNOR, J.

{¶ 1} This appeal involves the availability of the public-duty rule as a defense to liability of employees of a political subdivision. Appellants, Circleville Police Department Officers Peter Shaw, William Eversole, and Ben Carpenter¹ ("the officers"), assert that the public-duty rule governs the issue whether an employee of a political subdivision performing his job owes a duty to an individual member of the public. The officers additionally argue that the wanton-and-reckless-conduct exception to immunity in R.C. 2744.03(A)(6)(b) is not an exception to, and did not repudiate, the public-duty rule.

{¶ 2} Conversely, appellee, the estate of Jillian Marie Graves, contends that the public-duty rule does not protect employees of political subdivisions from liability for wanton and reckless misconduct. The estate further submits that R.C. 2744.03 abrogated the public-duty rule to the extent that the rule protects from liability employees who engage in wanton and reckless conduct.

{¶ 3} We hold that the public-duty rule adopted by this court in Sawicki v. Ottawa Hills (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 222, 525 N.E.2d 468, is not applicable in civil actions brought against employees of political subdivisions for wanton or reckless conduct. Because the estate alleges more than mere negligence and asserts that the officers acted in a wanton and reckless manner, the public-duty rule adopted in Sawicki is not an available defense for the officers. We therefore affirm the judgment of the court of appeals and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Relevant Background

{¶ 4} This matter arises from the events leading to an automobile collision that resulted in the deaths of Cornelius Copley and Jillian Graves. On July 4, 2003, Officer Shaw arrested Copley for driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1) and driving under suspension in violation of former R.C. 4507.02(D)(2). Copley was released from jail the following afternoon by Officer Eversole. Copley returned to the police station later that afternoon to retrieve his vehicle. Officer Carpenter examined the tow log and, finding no "hold" on Copley's vehicle, authorized the release of Copley's vehicle. The next morning, on July 6, 2003, Copley drove his vehicle while intoxicated and collided with Graves's vehicle. Both of them were killed in the accident.

{¶ 5} The estate filed suit against the officers, alleging that they had breached their duty to Graves by failing to remove Copley's license plates from his vehicle and by releasing the vehicle to him.² More specifically, the estate claimed that (1) R.C. 4507.38 required that Copley's vehicle be held until his initial court appearance because he had been charged with driving on a suspended license and (2) R.C. 4511.195 required that Copley's vehicle remain impounded because he had been convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol ("OMVI") within the prior six-year period. The estate alleged that the officers were aware that Copley was a recidivist drunk driver who was driving on a suspended license and that the officers violated the law by allowing Copley to obtain his vehicle from the impound lot. The estate further alleged that the officers acted wantonly, recklessly, and with complete disregard for the foreseeable consequences of their actions and thus were liable under R.C. Chapter 2744.

{¶ 6} The officers moved for summary judgment, arguing that (1) they owed no duty to Graves under the public-duty rule and (2) they were immune from liability because there is no evidence that they acted wantonly or recklessly. The trial court did not address the public-duty rule but found that the matter was governed by the immunity statute, R.C. Chapter 2744. In construing the evidence most strongly in the estate's favor, the trial court determined that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the officers acted in a wanton and reckless manner. The trial court therefore denied summary judgment.

{¶ 7} On appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeals, the court affirmed. Estate of Graves v. Circleville, 179 Ohio App.3d 479, 2008-Ohio-6052, 902 N.E.2d 535. In addressing whether the officers owed a duty to Graves, the Fourth District found that the public-duty rule remains viable but concluded that the rule does not apply in the context of wanton or reckless conduct. Id. at ¶ 23 and 25. The court of appeals agreed that genuine issues of material fact remained regarding whether the officers acted wantonly or recklessly and whether their conduct proximately caused Graves's death.

{¶ 8} The case is now before us on our acceptance of a discretionary appeal to determine whether the public-duty rule bars a holding of liability against the officers. Estate of Graves v. Circleville, 121 Ohio St.3d 1439, 2009-Ohio-1638, 903 N.E.2d 1222.

Analysis

A. The Public-Duty Rule Adopted in Sawicki v. Ottawa Hills

{¶ 9} In Sawicki, we adopted the public-duty rule, a doctrine that "originated at English common law and was particularly applied to the office of sheriff." Sawicki v. Ottawa Hills (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 222, 229, 525 N.E.2d 468. Under the public-duty rule, a municipality owes a duty only to the general public when performing functions imposed on it by law, and therefore it is not liable for a breach of that duty resulting in harm to an individual, absent a special duty owed to the injured person. Id. at 230, 525 N.E.2d 468; Wallace v. Ohio Dept. of Commerce, Div. of State Fire Marshal, 96 Ohio St.3d 266, 2002-Ohio-4210, 773 N.E.2d 1018, ¶ 13.

{¶ 10} In Sawicki, we followed the New York Court of Appeals and adopted a special-duty exception to the public-duty rule. Sawicki, 37 Ohio St.3d at 231-232, 525 N.E.2d 468, citing Cuffy v. New York (1987), 69 N.Y.2d 255, 260, 513 N.Y.S.2d 372, 505 N.E.2d 937. In order for the special-duty exception to apply, "the following elements must be shown to exist: (1) an assumption by the municipality, through promises or actions, of an affirmative duty to act on behalf of the party who was injured; (2) knowledge on the part of the municipality's agents that inaction could lead to harm; (3) some form of direct contact between the municipality's agents and the injured party; and (4) that party's justifiable reliance on the municipality's affirmative undertaking." Id. at paragraph four of the syllabus.³

B. Applicability of the Public-Duty Rule

{¶ 11} In their first and second propositions, the officers aver that the wanton-and-reckless-conduct exception to immunity in R.C. 2744.03(A)(6)(b) does not defeat application of the public-duty rule. The officers contend that the general duties established by R.C. 4507.38 and 4511.195 are owed to the public as a whole rather than to specific individuals. The officers maintain that in accordance with the public-duty rule, they cannot be liable to the estate for a duty owed only to the general public. We disagree and hold that the public-duty rule is not applicable in this case.

1. The narrow context in which Sawicki was decided

{¶ 12} In determining whether the public-duty rule is an available defense in this case, we must review the context in which the rule was adopted. The events giving rise to Sawicki occurred on September 17, 1981. Sawicki, 37 Ohio St.3d at 222, 525 N.E.2d 468. However, before this court's opinion in Sawicki was issued on June 29, 1988, the General Assembly enacted the Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act, codified in R.C. Chapter 2744, which became effective on November 20, 1985. R.C. Chapter 2744 is the General Assembly's response to the judicial abrogation of common-law sovereign immunity. Its manifest purpose is the preservation of the fiscal integrity of political subdivisions. Wilson v. Stark Cty. Dept. of Human Servs. (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 450, 453, 639 N.E.2d 105.

{¶ 13} In Sawicki, this court emphasized the fact that the events fell within the gap period between the "time when this court had, in a series of divided opinions, judicially abrogated the application of the doctrine of sovereign immunity as a defense for municipal corporations" and the enactment of R.C. Chapter 2744. Sawicki, 37 Ohio St.3d at 225, 525 N.E.2d 468. Thus, this court stressed that if the facts giving rise to the case had occurred after R.C. Chapter 2744's effective date, the immunity statute likely would have immunized the village of Ottawa Hills from any liability deriving from the actions of its police officers. Id. It is within this very limited context that we adopted the public-duty rule.

{¶ 14} Indeed, in Wallace, this court reaffirmed that Sawicki was limited in its application in terms...