Mora Soto v. City Of Bonner Springs .

• Decision Date: 03 September 2010
• Docket Number: No. 96,011.,96,011.
• Citation: 291 Kan. 73,238 P.3d 278
• Parties: Jose Mora SOTO, Appellant, v. CITY OF BONNER SPRINGS, et al., Appellees.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

291 Kan. 73

238 P.3d 278

Jose Mora SOTO, Appellant,

v.CITY OF BONNER SPRINGS, et al., Appellees.

No. 96,011.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Sept. 3, 2010.

Syllabus by the Court

1. An issue not briefed by an appellant is deemed waived or abandoned.

2. When material facts are undisputed, appellate review of the district court's grant of summary judgment is de novo.

3. The Kansas Tort Claims Act is an open-ended act making governmental liability the rule and immunity the exception.

4. Whether a governmental entity is immune from liability under an immunity exception of the Kansas Tort Claims Act, K.S.A. 75-6101 et seq. , is a matter of law. Accordingly, appellate review is de novo.

5. The governmental entity bears the burden to establish immunity under the exceptions of the Kansas Tort Claims Act.

6. In deciding whether the discretionary function exception of the Kansas Tort Claims Act applies, it is the nature and quality of the discretion exercised which should be the focus rather than the status of the employee exercising the discretion.

7. In considering whether a governmental action is discretionary for the purpose of the discretionary function exception of the Kansas Tort Claims Act, the court should decide whether the judgment of the governmental employee is of the nature and quality which the legislature intended to put beyond judicial review.

8. If there is a clearly defined mandatory duty or guideline, the discretionary function exception of the Kansas Tort Claims Act is not applicable.

9. A wanton act is something more than ordinary negligence, but something less than willful injury. To constitute wantonness, the act must indicate a realization of the imminence of danger and a reckless disregard and complete indifference and unconcern for the probable consequences of the wrongful act. It is sufficient if it indicates a reckless disregard for the rights of others with a total indifference to the consequences, although a catastrophe might be the natural result.

10. In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must determine whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.

11. Under the facts of this case, the manner in which the governmental employee proceeded after notice of plaintiff's claim of mistaken identity was discretionary and entitled to immunity from liability by the discretionary function exception of the Kansas Tort Claims Act.

William Sharma-Crawford, of Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law, of Overland Park, argued the cause and was on the briefs for appellant.

Patrick M. Waters, of legal department, Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, of Kansas City, argued the cause, and Henry E. Couchman, Jr., of the same office, was with him on the briefs for appellees.

The opinion of the court was delivered by NUSS, J.:

This case considers the application of the Kansas Tort Claims Act (KTCA), K.S.A. 75-6101 et seq. , to a law enforcement detention. Jose Mora Soto was lawfully stopped for a traffic violation in Bonner Springs in Wyandotte County. He was then arrested and detained at a Wyandotte County detention facility pursuant to a Johnson County arrest warrant issued for a similarly named individual. Upon Soto's release 2 1/2 days later, he brought suit for false arrest and imprisonment against the City of Bonner Springs, Unified Government of Wyandotte County /Kansas City, the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Department, and various officers. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants on various bases.

Soto appealed only the summary judgments granted to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, and the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Department (collectively County). The Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment, holding that the Wyandotte County detention officers were engaged in a discretionary function in deciding whether to further investigate if Soto was the person named in the arrest warrant. Accordingly, the discretionary function exception of the KTCA provided the County with immunity from liability for false arrest and imprisonment. Soto v. City of Bonner Springs, 38 Kan.App.2d 382, 385, 166 P.3d 1056 (2007). We granted Soto's petition for review under K.S.A. 60-2101(b).

As we understand Soto's brief to this court and his accompanying oral arguments, he essentially raises only one argument on appeal. The rest of his issues are therefore abandoned. See State v. Richmond, 289 Kan. 419, 437, 212 P.3d 165 (2009) (An issue not briefed by an appellant is deemed waived or abandoned.). His basic appellate issue is whether the County is immune from liability under the discretionary function exception of the KTCA.

We answer: “Yes.” Accordingly, we affirm the district court and the Court of Appeals.

Facts

In November 2003, Soto was stopped by Bonner Springs Police Officer Mark Stites, who noticed that Soto's license plate was loose and hanging. Officer Stites was told by a police dispatcher that the license plate on the car Soto was driving belonged to a car of a different make and model. In Soto's deposition, he testified that the license plate on the car he was going to drive had expired, so he put on a license plate from another.

Soto provided Officer Stites a driver's license for Jose M. (Mora) Soto. Consequently, Stites requested information from the dispatcher about Jose M. Soto, a Hispanic male with a date of birth of December 26, 1973, a height of 5' 5?, and a weight of 165 lbs. The dispatcher advised Stites of a Johnson County warrant for a Jose L. (Luis) Soto, a Hispanic male with a date of birth of December 24, 1973, a height of 5'3?, and a weight of 115 lbs. According to Stites' affidavit, the driver's license given to him by plaintiff Soto contained the same number as the driver's license on the warrant provided by the dispatcher, and he confirmed this match with the dispatcher. These facts are uncontroverted in Soto's response to the County's summary judgment motion. At oral arguments, Soto's attorney conceded that his client's driver's license number was corroborated, i.e., it also appeared in the warrant.

Officer Stites asked the dispatcher if the Soto warrant was still valid, and the dispatcher told him it “had been confirmed.” Stites arrested Soto and transported him to the Wyandotte County Detention Center with the understanding that someone from the Johnson County Sheriff's Department would pick him up. Soto testified in his deposition that he protested his arrest and attempted to inform Stites that he was not the person named in the warrant. According to Soto's brief, he also “attempted to tell the jail personnel that he was not the person named in the warrant.”

Deputy David Ornelas was the intake booking officer at the Wyandotte County Detention Center. According to Ornelas' affidavit, he called the Johnson County Sheriff's Department's warrants desk. His purpose was to confirm the existence of the warrant and to make certain that Johnson County still wanted Wyandotte County to detain Soto. Ornelas provided the Johnson County deputy “the information on [Stites'] arrest report,” including Soto's first and last names, middle initial, date of birth, and the number of the warrant on which Soto had been arrested. The Johnson County deputy confirmed that “a warrant existed for Mr. Soto's arrest” and requested that Wyandotte County continue to detain Soto. Ornelas then proceeded to book Soto on the Johnson County warrant. Soto did not controvert any of these facts in his response to the County's motion for summary judgment.

After approximately 2 1/2 days in custody, Soto was picked up by authorities from Johnson County. Not long after he arrived at their facility, Soto pointed out that he did not look like the person pictured on the warrant. He was then released.

Soto filed a petition claiming negligence against various officers, the City of Bonner Springs, Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, and the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Department . Soto later conceded that all of his negligence claims were, in fact, claims for false arrest and imprisonment.

The City of Bonner Springs and its officers filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Soto's claim for false arrest was filed outside of the 1-year statute of limitations. They also claimed immunity from liability under certain portions of the KTCA-most importantly, the discretionary function exception.

In the County's motion for summary judgment, it argued the officers were legally justified in detaining Soto because there was probable cause to believe a valid warrant existed for his arrest. The County claimed that the officers had no duty to investigate whether Soto was the person named in the Johnson County warrant. Finally, the County argued that the discretionary function and police protection exceptions in the KTCA provided immunity from any liability.

After hearing arguments, the district court granted summary judgment to Bonner Springs and the County. The judge concluded that Soto's petition as to the Bonner Springs entities and individual officers was barred by the statute of limitations, that there was probable cause to believe there was a valid warrant for Soto's arrest, and that the discretionary function exception applied to all of Soto's claims against both Bonner Springs and the County. Soto appealed only the judge's order granting summary judgment to the County. The Court of Appeals affirmed on the basis of the discretionary function exception, and we granted Soto's petition for review.

More facts will be provided as necessary to the analysis.

Analysis

Issue: The County is immune from liability under the discretionary function exception of the KTCA.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's summary judgment on one basis: even if the defendants owed Soto a duty and breached that duty, Soto's claims...