Parrish v. Dunn (In re Price)

• Court: Alabama Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: BRYAN, Justice.
• Citation: Parrish v. Dunn (In re Price), 256 So.3d 1184 (Ala. 2018)
• Decision Date: 12 January 2018
• Docket Number: 1160956
• Parties: EX PARTE Cheryl PRICE and Greg Lovelace (In re Marcus Parrish v. Jefferson Dunn et al.)

256 So.3d 1184

EX PARTE Cheryl PRICE and Greg Lovelace

(In re Marcus Parrish

v.Jefferson Dunn et al.)

1160956

Supreme Court of Alabama.

January 12, 2018

Steve Marshall, atty. gen., and Andrew Brasher, deputy atty. gen., and Anne Adams Hill, gen. counsel, and Mary–Coleman Robertson, asst. atty. gen., Alabama Department of Corrections, for petitioners.

H. Gregory Harp, Trussville, for respondents.

BRYAN, Justice.

Cheryl Price and Greg Lovelace, two of the defendants below, petition this Court for a writ of mandamus directing the trial court to enter a summary judgment in their favor on the ground of State-agent immunity. We grant the petition and issue the writ.

Price was formerly the warden at Donaldson Correctional Facility ("the prison"), which is operated by the Alabama Department of Corrections ("the DOC"). Lovelace is a deputy commissioner of the DOC in charge of construction and maintenance. The plaintiff, Marcus Parrish, is a correctional officer employed by the DOC. The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to Parrish, the nonmovant, see Wilma Corp. v. Fleming Foods of Alabama, Inc., 613 So.2d 359 (Ala. 1993), reveals the following facts. Parrish was supervising inmate showers in a segregation unit in the prison. Parrish left the shower area briefly to retrieve shaving trimmers, and, when he returned, inmate Rashad Byers had already entered a shower cell, which had an exterior lock on it. Byers indicated that he was finished with his shower, and Parrish told him to turn around to be handcuffed. Parrish then approached Byers's shower door with the key to the lock on the door in his hand. Parrish was getting ready to unlock the shower door when Byers unexpectedly opened the door, exited the shower cell, and attacked Parrish. During the attack, Byers took Parrish's baton from him and began striking Parrish with it. Parrish was knocked unconscious, and he sustained injuries to his head.

Parrish sued Price and Lovelace in their official capacities. Parrish later filed an amended complaint naming Price and Lovelace as defendants in their individual capacities only. Thus, it appears that Price and Lovelace are now being sued only in their individual capacities. Parrish also sued other defendants, but those claims are not relevant to this petition. Parrish's allegations concern the cell-door locks and staffing at the prison. Parrish alleged that many of the locks at the prison were defective, which allowed prisoners to open supposedly locked doors, and that the prison was understaffed with correctional officers. Parrish alleged that Price and Lovelace willfully breached their duties by failing to monitor the prison for unsafe conditions and by failing to repair or replace the allegedly defective locks. The complaint further alleged that Price willfully breached a duty by failing to remedy the alleged understaffing at the prison. Although the allegations concern both faulty locks and understaffing, it appears that the primary allegation concerns the locks; Parrish does not mention the alleged understaffing in his brief to this Court.

Price and Lovelace moved for a summary judgment, asserting, among other things, that they are entitled to State-agent immunity. Price and Lovelace supported their summary-judgment motion mainly with excerpts from their own depositions. In response, Parrish argued that Price and Lovelace are not entitled to State-agent immunity. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the summary-judgment motion. The trial court concluded, without elaboration, that genuine issues of material fact exist so as to preclude a summary judgment. Price and Lovelace then petitioned this Court for a writ of mandamus, arguing that they are immune from liability based on State-agent immunity.

Generally, the denial of a summary-judgment motion is not reviewable by a mandamus petition, but an exception to that general rule exists here. The denial of a summary-judgment motion grounded on a claim of immunity is reviewable by a mandamus petition. Ex parte Turner, 840 So.2d 132, 135 (Ala. 2002).

"A writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, and it will be ‘issued only when there is: 1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the order sought; 2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; 3) the lack of another adequate remedy; and 4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the court.’ Ex parte United Serv. Stations, Inc., 628 So.2d 501, 503 (Ala. 1993)."

Ex parte Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 720 So.2d 893, 894 (Ala. 1998).

Moreover,

"[i]n reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion for a summary judgment, we apply the same standard the trial court applied initially in granting or denying the motion. Ex parte Alfa Mut. Gen. Ins. Co., 742 So.2d 182, 184 (Ala. 1999).

" ‘The principles of law applicable to a motion for summary judgment are well settled. To grant such a motion, the trial court must determine that the evidence does not create a genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P. When the movant makes a prima facie showing that those two conditions are satisfied, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to present "substantial evidence" creating a genuine issue of material fact.’

" 742 So.2d at 184. ‘[S]ubstantial evidence is evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved.’ West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870, 871 (Ala. 1989)."

Swan v. City of Hueytown, 920 So.2d 1075, 1077–78 (Ala. 2005).

In Ex parte Cranman, 792 So.2d 392 (Ala. 2000) ( Cranman was a plurality decision, but a majority of this Court later adopted the Cranman standard in Ex parte Butts, 775 So.2d 173 (Ala. 2000) ), this Court restated the standard governing State-agent immunity:

"A State agent shall be immune from civil liability in his or her personal capacity when the conduct made the basis of the claim against the agent is based upon the agent's

"(1) formulating plans, policies, or designs; or

"(2) exercising his or her judgment in the administration of a department or agency of government, including, but not limited to, examples such as:

"(a) making administrative adjudications;

"(b) allocating resources;

"(c) negotiating contracts;

"(d) hiring, firing, transferring, assigning, or supervising personnel; or

"(3) discharging duties imposed on a department or agency by statute, rule, or regulation, insofar as the statute, rule, or regulation prescribes the manner for performing the duties and the State agent performs the duties in that manner; or

"(4) exercising judgment in the enforcement of the criminal laws of the State, including, but not limited to, law-enforcement officers' arresting or attempting to arrest persons[, or serving as peace officers under circumstances entitling such officers to immunity pursuant to § 6–5–338(a), Ala. Code 1975]; or

"(5) exercising judgment in the discharge of duties imposed by statute, rule, or regulation in releasing prisoners, counseling or releasing persons of unsound mind, or educating students.

"Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing statement of the rule, a State agent shall not be immune from civil liability in his or her personal capacity

"(1) when the Constitution or laws of the United States, or the Constitution of this State, or laws, rules, or regulations of this State enacted or promulgated for the purpose of regulating the activities of a governmental agency require otherwise; or

"(2) when the State agent acts willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond his or her authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law."

792 So.2d at 405 (bracketed language is modification added by Hollis v. City of Brighton, 950 So.2d 300, 309 (Ala. 2006) ).

" ‘This Court has established a "burden-shifting" process when a party raises the defense of State-agent immunity.’ Ex parte Estate of Reynolds, 946 So.2d 450, 452 (Ala. 2006). A State agent asserting State-agent immunity ‘bears the burden of demonstrating that the plaintiff's claims arise from a function that would entitle the State agent to immunity.’ 946 So.2d at 452. Should the State agent make such a showing, the burden then shifts to the plaintiff to show that one of the two categories of exceptions to State-agent immunity recognized in Cranman is applicable."

Ex parte Kennedy, 992 So.2d 1276, 1282 (Ala. 2008).

The parties first dispute whether Price and Lovelace have met their burden of showing that Parrish's claims arise from a function that would entitle them to State-agent immunity. That is, the parties dispute whether Price and Lovelace have shown that they fall within any of the five categories of State-agent immunity listed in Cranman. Price and Lovelace contend on appeal, as they did below, that they qualify for State-agent immunity under multiple Cranman categories. Parrish argues that Price and Lovelace have failed to produce evidence establishing that they fall within any of the Cranman immunity categories.

In arguing that Price and Lovelace have failed to meet their evidentiary burden, Parrish relies primarily on Ex parte Wood, 852 So.2d 705 (Ala. 2002).¹ In Wood, E.L. was a student at a juvenile-correctional facility operated by the Alabama Department of Youth Services ("the Department"). He sued Wood, the executive director of the Department, in his individual capacity. As executive director, Wood implemented the policies and procedures established by the Alabama Youth Services Board. E.L. alleged that, as a student at the facility, he was not provided the curriculum and course of study mandated by state law. Wood moved for a summary judgment, asserting that he was entitled to State-agent immunity, and he supported his motion with his own affidavit. The trial court denied the summary-judgment motion, and Wood petitioned this Court for a writ of mandamus.

...