Fonseca v. Collins, WD
| Decision Date | 26 July 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. WD,WD |
| Citation | 884 S.W.2d 63 |
| Parties | Nina and Marisa FONSECA, Appellants, v. Tyrone L. COLLINS, et al., Defendants, Thomas Roberson and City of Raytown, Respondents. 48834. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
John C. Milholland, Harrisonville, for appellants.
Robert O. Jester, Kansas City, for respondent Thomas Roberson.
Gardiner B. Davis, Kansas City, for respondent City of Raytown.
Before SMART, P.J., and KENNEDY and ULRICH, JJ.
This case arises out of a wrongful death action as a result of the death of Susanna Fonseca, who was killed in a vehicular collision in Kansas City on September 30, 1990. Nina and Marisa Fonseca ("plaintiffs"), children of the deceased, appeal from the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Thomas Roberson and City of Raytown ("defendants").
Judgment is affirmed.
The following uncontradicted facts were set forth by officer Thomas Roberson, a Raytown policeman, in his deposition testimony considered in connection with the motion for summary judgment. At about 10:00 p.m., on September 30, 1990, Officer Roberson was stopped in his patrol car at 63rd Street and Arlington watching for traffic or ordinance violations and also watching the business district for any unusual activity. The businesses located in the area where Officer Roberson was patrolling had experienced problems with break-ins. Officer Roberson observed a light-colored Chevrolet Caprice coming out from behind a shopping strip mall. All the businesses on the strip were closed at the time. Three young males occupied the automobile. As the vehicle exited the parking lot, the officer observed that the vehicle didn't have any front or rear license plates 1 and he noticed that the occupants of the vehicle stared at him in an "exaggerated manner." Officer Roberson began to follow the vehicle, and he noted that the occupants kept turning around looking at him. He observed the passenger in the rear seat bending down, and it appeared to Roberson that he might have been hiding something under the seat. Officer Roberson concluded it was possible that either the three young men were in a stolen vehicle or had been attempting to break into one of the businesses. Officer Roberson continued to follow the vehicle down 63rd Street without activating any emergency equipment. Finding an area to make a safe stop, the officer activated his emergency lights. After the lights were activated, the driver of the Chevrolet stuck his arm out the window and made a motion as if he were trying to wave the officer around him. In response, the officer turned on his spotlight and shined it on the car in order to inform the occupants of the vehicle in question that he was attempting to stop them. He also activated his siren. The vehicle did not stop.
The vehicle began heading towards Kansas City. Before it left the jurisdiction of Raytown, Officer Roberson sought permission to follow the vehicle outside the jurisdiction in accordance with the rules of the City of Raytown police department. At that point, Roberson had not received a response from his sergeant granting him authorization to pursue the vehicle past the jurisdiction of Raytown, but the officer continued to follow the car. As the Chevrolet entered the entrance ramp for 350 Highway, the car increased its speed. The officer continued to follow the vehicle, driving about 55 miles per hour, and continued to seek permission for the pursuit. Officer Roberson decided to discontinue pursuit of the vehicle at Eastwood Trafficway because the traffic had become more congested, he had lost sight of the vehicle, and he wasn't sure whether he had been authorized to pursue the vehicle. Officer Roberson continued down the road looking for a place to turn around. Before finding a place to turn around, Roberson came upon an accident involving the vehicle that he had been pursuing. The occupant of the other car involved in the collision had been killed. Officer Roberson stayed with the three occupants of the vehicle until backup arrived.
The children of Susanna Fonseca, the deceased driver of the other vehicle, brought a wrongful death action against the three occupants of the car, Officer Roberson and the City of Raytown. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Officer Roberson and the City of Raytown. Plaintiffs appeal from this judgment.
Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment in favor of defendants on the ground that they had official immunity. Plaintiffs argue that political subdivisions of the state, namely the City of Raytown, cannot have official immunity, and that individuals who are public employees cannot have official immunity for the violation of duties which are not discretionary.
In determining whether summary judgment was appropriate in this case, we must remember that if the trial court reaches a correct result in an order of summary judgment, we must affirm, even if the trial court reached the result based on incorrect reasons. Delaney v. Meiners, 842 S.W.2d 565, 567 (Mo.App.1992). As a governmental officer, a police officer has the benefit of official immunity, which shields the officer from liability for torts arising out of discretionary acts. Hagedorn v. Adams, 854 S.W.2d 470, 476 (Mo.App.1993). The officer is liable for negligently performing ministerial acts. Id. Whether an act is discretionary or ministerial depends upon the degree of reason and judgment required. Id. Discretionary acts require "the exercise of reason in the adaption of means to an end and discretion in determining how or whether an act should be done or course pursued." Kanagawa v. State, 685 S.W.2d 831, 836 (Mo. banc 1985). Ministerial acts are "of a clerical nature which a public officer is required to perform upon a given state of facts, in a prescribed manner, in obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without regard to his own judgment or opinion concerning the propriety of the act to be performed." Id.
The official immunity doctrine serves an important function in our society. Courts and legal commentators have long agreed that society's compelling interest in vigorous and effective administration of public affairs requires that the law protect those individuals who, in the face of imperfect information and limited resources, must daily exercise their best judgment in conducting the public's business. "If an officer is to be put in fear of financial loss at every exercise of his official functions, manifestly the interest of the public will inevitably suffer from the too complacent attitude thus engendered."
Id. (citations omitted). The issue of whether a governmental official is protected from liability by official immunity must be decided on a case by case basis and some factors to be considered include the nature of the official's duties, the extent to which the acts involve policymaking or the exercise of professional expertise and judgment and the likely consequences of withholding immunity. Id.
Plaintiffs contend that the allegations of negligence leveled against defendants constitute acts of a ministerial nature. In their petition, plaintiffs charge the police officer with negligence in the operation of a motor vehicle on the public streets. They cite MAI 11.03 and § 304.010, RSMo 1986, in defining "negligent operation of a motor vehicle" as the failure to exercise the highest degree of care, the "degree of care that a very careful and prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances." Plaintiffs assert that § 304.010 permits no discretion, thus making the operation of a motor vehicle a ministerial act. Put simply, plaintiffs allege that police officers have a ministerial duty to exercise the highest degree of care when operating a motor vehicle, and Officer Roberson breached this duty when he engaged in the pursuit of Defendant Collin's vehicle.
Plaintiffs failed to allege facts supporting the proposition that...
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