Horne v. Beason

• Decision Date: 24 April 1985
• Docket Number: No. 22335,22335
• Citation: Horne v. Beason, 285 S.C. 518, 331 S.E.2d 342 (S.C. 1985)
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: Robert S. HORNE, Administrator of the Estate of Wayne Franklin Horne, deceased, Respondent-Appellant, v. James BEASON, Joe Moon, Darrell Kimbrell, Ken Holloway, Don N. Smith, Wayne Welborn, Randall G. Ponder, Paul Greer, Roy Collins, Jr., L.C. Pearson, Nancy Jones, and the City of Greer, Defendants, Of Whom The City of Greer is Appellant, And James Beason and Joe Moon are Appellants-Respondents, And Don N. Smith, Wayne Welborn, Randall G. Ponder, Paul Greer, Roy Collins, Jr., L.C. Pearson and Nancy Jones are Respondents. Appeal of The CITY OF GREER. . Heard

Page 342

331 S.E.2d 342

285 S.C. 518

Robert S. HORNE, Administrator of the Estate of Wayne Franklin Horne, deceased, Respondent-Appellant, v. James BEASON, Joe Moon, Darrell Kimbrell, Ken Holloway, Don N. Smith, Wayne Welborn, Randall G. Ponder, Paul Greer, Roy Collins, Jr., L.C. Pearson Nancy Jones, and the City of Greer, Defendants Of Whom The City of Greer is Appellant And James Beason and Joe Moon are Appellants-Respondents And Don N. Smith, Wayne Welborn, Randall G. Ponder, Paul Greer, Roy Collins, Jr., L.C. Pearson and Nancy Jones are Respondents. Appeal of The CITY OF GREER.

No. 22335.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Heard April 24, 1985.

Decided May 29, 1985.

Jeffrey A. Merriam of Carter, Smith, Merriam & Rogers, Greer, for appellant.

W. Howard Boyd, Jr. of Rainey, Britton, Gibbs & Clarkson, Greenville, for appellants-respondents and respondents.

Thomas W. Greene and Jerry L. Taylor, Greenville, for respondent-appellant.

LITTLEJOHN, Chief Justice:

Wayne Franklin Horne, a seventeen-year-old boy, was discovered dead in his cell at the City of Greer Jail. There is no contention that he died at the hands of another, and the agreed statement of fact by which the parties are bound stipulates that "... he was found dead in his cell, having hanged himself."

These wrongful death and survival actions were instituted against several defendants by the plaintiff-respondent-appellant, Robert S. Horne, in his capacity as Administrator of the Estate of the deceased. Identity of the various defendants is necessary to an understanding of the issues involved in this appeal.

The City of Greer is a municipality; Don N. Smith is Mayor and Welborn, Ponder, Greer, Collins, Pearson and Jones are members of City Council; Beason was Chief of Police and Moon was shift supervisor of the jail; Kimbrell and Holloway are members of the South Carolina Highway Patrol who arrested the youth and delivered him to the jail for incarceration. The complaint alleges all of these defendants were negligent and proximately caused the death of Horne and that the plaintiff is entitled to recovery of both actual and punitive damages.

The facts are not greatly, if at all, in dispute. Wayne Franklin Horne was arrested by Patrolmen Kimbrell and Holloway on the night of August 19, 1982, while driving a motor vehicle and dressed in swimming trunks and a bathrobe with a cloth belt. He was charged with driving under license suspension, second offense, and with operating an uninsured motor vehicle all in violation of statutory law. They took him to the Greer City Jail where he was incarcerated as the sole occupant of a cell at approximately 10:25 p.m. Some thirty-five minutes later, he was found dead in the cell having hanged himself from overhead bars with the cloth bathrobe belt he was wearing when arrested.

Patrolmen Kimbrell and Holloway answered the complaints denying allegations of negligence and moved for summary judgment. All other defendants demurred asserting (1) that sovereign immunity was applicable, (2) the complaint failed to state a cause of action, and (3) the death was a suicide and all were not subject to liability as a matter of law. The trial judge granted summary judgment in favor of the arresting patrolmen; he denied the demurrers of Moon and Beason and of the City of Greer; he sua sponte dismissed the action as related to the Mayor and Councilmen.

Moon, Beason and the City appeal submitting that the trial judge erred in denying their demurrers. Plaintiff appeals arguing that the trial judge erred in granting summary judgment to the two patrolmen and in dismissing the Mayor and City Council sua sponte.

As relates to the cause of action against the City of Greer, there has recently been filed in this Court an opinion in the case of McCall v. Batson, 329 S.E.2d 741, S.C. 1985, in which the doctrine of sovereign immunity has been eroded. That opinion held that governmental entities, such as the City of Greer, are immune from suit until July 1, 1986, unless they have liability insurance. All parties stipulate that at the time this cause of action arose, the City of Greer did not have liability insurance coverage. Accordingly without further discussion of the merits of the case, the City of Greer prevails on this appeal and we reverse the denial of the demurrer as to the defendant based on McCall.

In light of the view we take, it is not necessary to separately discuss the charges of culpability against (1) the Mayor and City Council, (2) the Highway Patrolmen and (3) the chief of police and supervising jailor. No...