Flournoy v. School Dist. No. One in City and County of Denver, No. 23199

Docket NºNo. 23199
Citation482 P.2d 966, 174 Colo. 110
Case DateMarch 22, 1971
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado

Page 966

482 P.2d 966
174 Colo. 110
Roy FLOURNOY and Ruth L. Flournoy, Plaintiffs in Error,
v.
SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER ONE IN the CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER,
Defendant in Error.
No. 23199.
Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc.
March 22, 1971.
Rehearing Denied April 12, 1971.

John S. Carroll, Walter L. Gerash, Denver, for plaintiffs in error.

Henry, Cockrell, Quinn & Creighton, Richard C. Cockrell, Peter C. Guthery, Peter M. Eggleston, Denver, for defendant in error.

[174 Colo. 111] GROVES, Justice.

The plaintiffs (plaintiffs in error here) brought an action against the defendant school district and others to collect damages for the alleged wrongful death of their son. The court granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the school district on the ground of governmental immunity and the amended complaint was dismissed as to it. The school district is the only defendant in error in this proceeding. The only issue we are called upon to decide is whether we shall continue to follow the doctrine of governmental immunity as to school districts.

There has been cited 1965 Perm.Supp., C.R.S.1963, 123--30--10(23) and (24), and 123--30--11 authorizing boards of education of school districts to procure liability insurance and providing that each policy shall contain a condition that the insurer shall not assert the defense of sovereign immunity. It has been argued that this

Page 967

statute abrogates the doctrine of governmental immunity. We have not considered this argument and we do not pass on the issue. Our ruling is upon a broader ground.

For the reasons expressed in Evans v. Board of County Commissioners, Supreme Court, 482 P.2d 968, announced contemporaneously with this opinion, we hold that the court-made doctrine of governmental immunity of school districts is overruled. As to the parties to this proceeding and the two contemporaneous proceedings (Evans, Supra, and Proffitt v. State of Colorado, Supreme Court, 482 P.2d 965) this decision is effective immediately. As to all other causes of action the ruling shall be prospective and shall be effective only as to causes of action arising after June 30, 1972.

The other defendants in the district court action were Deloris I. Sayles (Sayles), Robert McComas (McComas) and Kenneth E. Oberholtzer (Oberholtzer). Following the entry of summary judgment in favor of the school district, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint [174 Colo. 112] in which they alleged the following: that...

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36 practice notes
  • Long v. City of Weirton, No. 13155
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of West Virginia
    • April 29, 1975
    ...284 N.E.2d 733 (Ind. 1972); Evans v. Board of County Commissioners, 174 Colo. 97, 482 P.2d 968 (1971); Flournoy v. School District No. 1, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966 (1971); Smith v. State, 93 Idaho 795, 473 P.2d 937 (1970); Willis v. Department of Conservation and Econ. Dev., 55 N.J. 534, ......
  • State By and Through Colorado State Claims Bd. of Div. of Risk Management v. DeFoor
    • United States
    • Colorado Supreme Court of Colorado
    • August 10, 1987
    ...Council Report at 72. 9 We announced our decision in Evans along with our decisions in Flournoy v. School District Number One, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966 (1971), and Proffitt v. State, 174 Colo. 113, 482 P.2d 965 (1971). These cases have been superseded by statute as stated in State v. Har......
  • Ayala v. Philadelphia Bd. of Public Ed.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
    • May 23, 1973
    ...231 N.E.2d 169 (1967)); Evans v. Board of County Commissioners, 174 Colo. 97, 482 P.2d 968 (1971); Flournoy v. School District No. 1, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966 Page 879 (1971); Smith v. State, 93 Idaho 795, 473 P.2d 937 (1970); Willis v. Department of Conservation and Econ. Dev., 55 N.J. ......
  • Evans v. Board of County Com'rs of El Paso County, No. C--10
    • United States
    • Colorado Supreme Court of Colorado
    • March 22, 1971
    ...of this court is rejecting the doctrines of governmental immunity of school districts (Flournoy v. School District No. 1 of Denver, Colo., 482 P.2d 966), and sovereign immunity of the State of Colorado (Proffitt v. State of Colorado, Colo., 482 P.2d 965). We use this opinion as the vehicle ......
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36 cases
  • Long v. City of Weirton, No. 13155
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of West Virginia
    • April 29, 1975
    ...284 N.E.2d 733 (Ind. 1972); Evans v. Board of County Commissioners, 174 Colo. 97, 482 P.2d 968 (1971); Flournoy v. School District No. 1, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966 (1971); Smith v. State, 93 Idaho 795, 473 P.2d 937 (1970); Willis v. Department of Conservation and Econ. Dev., 55 N.J. 534, ......
  • State By and Through Colorado State Claims Bd. of Div. of Risk Management v. DeFoor
    • United States
    • Colorado Supreme Court of Colorado
    • August 10, 1987
    ...Council Report at 72. 9 We announced our decision in Evans along with our decisions in Flournoy v. School District Number One, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966 (1971), and Proffitt v. State, 174 Colo. 113, 482 P.2d 965 (1971). These cases have been superseded by statute as stated in State v. Har......
  • Ayala v. Philadelphia Bd. of Public Ed.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
    • May 23, 1973
    ...231 N.E.2d 169 (1967)); Evans v. Board of County Commissioners, 174 Colo. 97, 482 P.2d 968 (1971); Flournoy v. School District No. 1, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966 Page 879 (1971); Smith v. State, 93 Idaho 795, 473 P.2d 937 (1970); Willis v. Department of Conservation and Econ. Dev., 55 N.J. ......
  • Evans v. Board of County Com'rs of El Paso County, No. C--10
    • United States
    • Colorado Supreme Court of Colorado
    • March 22, 1971
    ...of this court is rejecting the doctrines of governmental immunity of school districts (Flournoy v. School District No. 1 of Denver, Colo., 482 P.2d 966), and sovereign immunity of the State of Colorado (Proffitt v. State of Colorado, Colo., 482 P.2d 965). We use this opinion as the vehicle ......
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