Meier v. City of Columbia Heights

• Decision Date: 22 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. A04-58.,A04-58.
• Citation: 686 N.W.2d 858
• Parties: Joyce MEIER, Respondent, v. CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Appellant, Mel Colova, et al., Defendants.
• Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals

686 N.W.2d 858

Joyce MEIER, Respondent, v. CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Appellant, Mel Colova, et al., Defendants.

No. A04-58.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

September 22, 2004.

Jon P. Parrington, Pustorino, Tilton, Parrington & Lindquist, PLLC, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant and defendants.

Karen E. Marty, Marty Law Firm, LLC, Bloomington, MN, for respondent.

Considered and decided by ANDERSON, Presiding Judge; TOUSSAINT, Chief Judge; and PETERSON, Judge.

OPINION

G. BARRY ANDERSON, Judge.

Respondent filed a complaint alleging illegal seizure, violation of procedural due process, violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and vandalism against appellant, City of Columbia Heights, and numerous individuals. Appellant and the individually-named defendants moved for summary judgment based on qualified and official immunity. The district court found the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity from respondent's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims, as well as official immunity in relation to respondent's state-law claims. But the district court denied appellant's summary judgment motion and thus declined to extend any immunity to appellant. Appellant then moved to dismiss the action based specifically on vicarious official immunity, but the district court denied this motion as well and appellant challenges the denial. Respondent, pursuant to a notice of review, seeks review of the district court's determination regarding the individual defendants' rights to qualified and official immunity.

FACTS

Respondent owns a duplex located in Columbia Heights. Respondent lived in half of the building, and used the other half to store various items she identifies as collectibles and antiques. According to respondent, these items "were in good condition, except for some furniture which could be repaired."

On October 15, 1995, appellant received a complaint regarding the condition of respondent's property. Appellant inspected the home in 1996, documenting via photographs various housing and fire code violations, including garbage and debris inside the building. Two years later, appellant issued a compliance order directing respondent to clean up the exterior of the property, and on June 22, 1998, appellant cited respondent for a violation of appellant's housing maintenance code. In the fall of 1999, appellant received further complaints regarding the condition of respondent's property. Thereafter, on November 29, 1999, Columbia Heights Fire Department (CHFD) employees visited respondent's residence. The CHFD employees "saw furniture and other items stacked four to five feet high in the interior, which did not appear to be habitable." On December 1, 1999, CHFD employees spoke with respondent at her property, at which time they noted the entry door could only be opened a third of the way because of various items stacked inside the unit. Respondent admitted to the CHFD employees that her home was more than she could deal with.

Appellant determined respondent's home was a garbage house due to the extraordinary clutter. On February 8, 2000, Mel Collova, a Columbia Heights building official,¹ sent respondent a letter referencing a complaint related to sections 102 and 3402 of the "Minnesota State Building Code, 1997 Uniform Building Code."² The letter directed respondent to contact appellant within fifteen days to schedule a code compliance inspection of the property. Furthermore, the letter stated, "Be advised, failure to comply with this request will lead to the City Attorney being instructed to obtain an Administrative Search warrant to conduct the inspection. Legal fees for this process will be assessed to you as the property owner of record." (Bolded emphasis in original.)

On July 26, 2000, appellant submitted a supporting affidavit and application for an administrative search warrant. The application and affidavit outlined the basis for inspecting the home, including a complaint from 1996, as well as personal observations by the affiant, Charlie Thompson, chief of the CHFD.³ The district court signed an administrative search warrant on July 27, 2000. The warrant was "for the purpose of examination and investigation to enforce the Minnesota Uniform Fire Code/Columbia Heights Fire and Housing Codes, the State Uniform Building Code" and to ensure "the health, safety, and welfare of its occupant(s)". Thompson and others under his direction were permitted to (1) enter, examine, and investigate the property in order to enforce the cited codes; (2) take photographs and measurements, conduct tests, and perform other such duties to ensure proper enforcement of the codes; and (3) hold any evidence in accordance with the law.

The administrative search warrant was executed on August 23, 2000, and the abatement was conducted on August 23-25, and 28.⁴ Respondent was not present on August 23, when the defendants entered the home and began the clean-up. Respondent alleges that many items were taken during abatement of the nuisance, including hundreds of antiques, heirlooms, and collectibles. Additionally, respondent claims that many items left behind during the abatement were damaged, and the house was damaged and dirty when the defendants left. Appellant then billed respondent for costs related to the abatement, levying a special assessment on the property for $16,602.91.

Appellant challenges the denial of its motion for summary judgment based on vicarious official immunity. Through a notice of review, respondent challenges the dismissal of her claims against the individually-named defendants, contending they are not entitled to immunity.

ISSUES

I. Are the individual defendants entitled to official immunity based on state law?

II. Did the district court err in determining appellant was not entitled to vicarious official immunity, even though appellant's public officials were granted official immunity?

III. Are the individual defendants entitled to qualified immunity based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983?

ANALYSIS

Standard of Review

A district court's decision regarding governmental immunity is immediately reviewable by this court. Anderson v. City of Hopkins, 393 N.W.2d 363, 364 (Minn.1986). On appeal from summary judgment, this court must determine whether there are any genuine issues of fact and whether the district court erred in its application of the law. Wiederholt v. City of Minneapolis, 581 N.W.2d 312, 315 (Minn.1998). An order for summary judgment denying an immunity defense is appealable because immunity from suit is lost if a case is erroneously allowed to go to trial. McGowan v. Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 527 N.W.2d 830, 832 (Minn.1995) (citing Anderson, 393 N.W.2d at 364). The applicability of immunity is a question of law, which this court reviews de novo. Johnson v. State, 553 N.W.2d 40, 45 (Minn. 1996).

The party asserting immunity has the burden of showing particular facts demonstrating an entitlement to immunity. Fear v. Indep. Sch. Dist. 911, 634 N.W.2d 204, 209 (Minn.App.2001), review denied (Minn. Dec. 11, 2001). When reviewing a denial of summary judgment based on a claim of immunity, we presume "the truth of the facts alleged by the nonmoving party." Id.

I.

The primary issue before this court is the denial of vicarious official immunity. But because official immunity must be extended before granting vicarious official immunity, it is necessary to determine if official immunity was appropriate here. While this court declines review of additional issues in immunity appeals, a discussion regarding appellants right to vicarious official immunity is inextricably intertwined with the individually-named defendants right to official immunity. Swint v. Chambers County Commn., 514 U.S. 35, 50-51, 115 S.Ct. 1203, 1212, 131 L.Ed.2d 60 (1995) (declining review of additional issues in immunity appeals, unless those issues are inextricably intertwined with immunity issues); see Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 103.03 (outlining appealable judgments and orders).

Traditionally, the application of official immunity in Minnesota "protects public officials from the fear of personal liability that might deter independent action and impair effective performance of their duties." Terwilliger v. Hennepin County, 561 N.W.2d 909, 913 (Minn.1997). But the Minnesota Supreme Court has significantly altered the analysis of official immunity under Minnesota law. Anderson v. Anoka Hennepin Ind. Sch. Dist. 11, 678 N.W.2d 651 (Minn.2004). Until Anderson, official immunity was primarily governed by, among other decisions, Larson v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 314, Braham, 289 N.W.2d 112 (Minn.1979); Elwood v. County of Rice, 423 N.W.2d 671 (Minn.1988); Terwilliger, 561 N.W.2d at 909; Wiederholt v. City of Minneapolis, 581 N.W.2d 312 (Minn.1998); and Gleason v. Metro. Council Transit Operations, 582 N.W.2d 216 (Minn.1998). Anderson, 678 N.W.2d at 655-56, 660-61. Most significantly, the advent of Anderson alters the applicability of official immunity to ministerial duties.⁵Id. at 661 (stating the supreme court "mistakenly applied statutory immunity standards in [its Larson] analysis").

At issue in Anderson was the official immunity of a teacher, as well as the vicarious official immunity of the school district. Id. at 654-55. The supreme court stated:

We see no reason for a different result when common law official immunity is at issue [instead of statutory immunity]. Accordingly, we hold that a teacher, like Peterson, does not forfeit official immunity because his or her conduct was ministerial if that ministerial conduct was required by a protocol established through the exercise of discretionary judgment that would itself be protected by official immunity.

Id. at 660. Stemming from this change in approach, the supreme court explained that official immunity also applies to ministerial conduct because the absence of immunity could have a chilling effect on employee actions. Id. Thus, the supreme court expanded the application of official immunity to include...