French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply Dist., No. 52313
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
| Writing for the Court | WALKER; PATTERSON, C. J. and BOWLING; PATTERSON; BOWLING |
| Citation | 394 So.2d 1385 |
| Decision Date | 18 March 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 52313 |
| Parties | James E. FRENCH et al. v. PEARL RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT et al. |
Page 1385
v.
PEARL RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT et al.
Page 1386
L. Glenn Fant, Jr., Holly Springs, for appellants.
William N. Reed, Watkins, Pyle, Ludlam & Stennis, Walker W. Jones, III, Jones & Mockbee, Heber Ladner, Jr., William C. Reeves, Upshaw & Ladner, Jackson, for appellees.
En banc.
WALKER, Justice, for the Court:
This is an appeal from a final judgment of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, which court sustained defendants' demurrer and dismissed plaintiffs' declaration.
Plaintiffs had sued Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and the members of its Board of Directors. The declaration alleged in detail improper management and operation of Ross Barnett Reservoir and resulting property damage to plaintiffs. The declaration, as amended, stated that prior to the occurrence of the alleged wrongs and injuries one or more of the defendants, acting either severally or in concert, procured for the protection of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and the members of its Board of Directors a policy of liability insurance, issued by a company qualified to do and doing business in the State of Mississippi, in the usual and ordinary form of such policies, and in the principal sum unknown to plaintiffs.
The defendants' demurrer and the court's reason for sustaining same was upon the ground of sovereign immunity.
I.
The appellants' first assignment of error is that the Legislature waived the District's immunity from suit by including in the statute under which the District was formed, Mississippi Code Annotated section 51-9-121(j) (1972), the power "to sue and be sued in its corporate name." The appellants contend that this language in the statute clearly permits suits against the District and, in effect, waives its sovereign immunity. However, we laid this question to rest in Berry v. Hinds County, 344 So.2d 146 (Miss.1977), where suit was brought against the county for injuries suffered when the plaintiff's automobile crashed into a collapsed bridge. In that case the Court said:
Appellants contend that they were authorized to bring suit and did bring suit under the provisions of Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-45-17 (1972), which provides:
"Any county may sue and be sued by its name, and suits against the county shall be instituted in any court having jurisdiction of the amount sitting at the county site; ..."
Long ago, we held, in State Highway Commission v. Gully, 167 Miss. 631, 145 So. 351 (1933):
"A general statutory grant of authority to sue a governmental subdivision or agency does not create any liability, and suit may be maintained thereunder only for such liability as is authorized by statute,
Page 1387
expressly or by necessary implication. City of Grenada v. Grenada County, 115 Miss. 831, 76 So. 682; Brabham v. Board of Supervisors of Hinds County, 54 Miss. 363, 28 Am.Rep. 352. At the time these cases were decided, the statute provided that any county might sue or be sued by its name, section 3484, Rev.Code 1871, section 309, Code 1906; and it was expressly held in each of...To continue reading
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Womble By and Through Havard v. Singing River Hosp., Nos. 90-CA-40
...where the statute is clear and unambiguous as it relates to sovereign immunity. See French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, 394 So.2d 1385 (Miss.1981); Lowndes County v. Miss. State Highway Commission, 220 So.2d 349 (Miss.1969). They somehow make the contention, however, that th......
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Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center v. Lawrence, No. 90-CA-01182-SCT
...523 So.2d 36 (Miss.1988); Joseph v. Tennessee Partners, Inc., 501 So.2d 371 (Miss.1987); French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply Dist., 394 So.2d 1385 (Miss.1981), overruled by Churchill v. Page 1267 Pearl River Basin Development Dist., 619 So.2d 900 (Miss.1993). Punitive damages are to p......
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Churchill v. Pearl River Basin Development Dist., No. 07-CA-59194
...authority specifically provided it the power to obtain liability insurance. In French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, 394 So.2d 1385 (Miss.1981), we held that the mere purchase of liability protection by a governmental body does not waive sovereign immunity. Id. at 1388. In Jos......
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PYCA Industries, Inc. v. Harrison County Waste Water Management Dist., Nos. 94-60800
...is only waived if insurance was purchased under express statutory authority. See French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply Dist., 394 So.2d 1385, 1388 (Miss.1981). Nonetheless, the Mississippi Supreme Court abolished this requirement and overruled French in Churchill. It specifically applie......
-
Womble By and Through Havard v. Singing River Hosp., Nos. 90-CA-40
...where the statute is clear and unambiguous as it relates to sovereign immunity. See French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, 394 So.2d 1385 (Miss.1981); Lowndes County v. Miss. State Highway Commission, 220 So.2d 349 (Miss.1969). They somehow make the contention, however, that th......
-
Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center v. Lawrence, No. 90-CA-01182-SCT
...523 So.2d 36 (Miss.1988); Joseph v. Tennessee Partners, Inc., 501 So.2d 371 (Miss.1987); French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply Dist., 394 So.2d 1385 (Miss.1981), overruled by Churchill v. Page 1267 Pearl River Basin Development Dist., 619 So.2d 900 (Miss.1993). Punitive damages are to p......
-
Churchill v. Pearl River Basin Development Dist., No. 07-CA-59194
...authority specifically provided it the power to obtain liability insurance. In French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, 394 So.2d 1385 (Miss.1981), we held that the mere purchase of liability protection by a governmental body does not waive sovereign immunity. Id. at 1388. In Jos......
-
PYCA Industries, Inc. v. Harrison County Waste Water Management Dist., Nos. 94-60800
...is only waived if insurance was purchased under express statutory authority. See French v. Pearl River Valley Water Supply Dist., 394 So.2d 1385, 1388 (Miss.1981). Nonetheless, the Mississippi Supreme Court abolished this requirement and overruled French in Churchill. It specifically applie......