Taylor v. Knox County Bd. of Educ.

Decision Date15 December 1942
Citation292 Ky. 767,167 S.W.2d 700
PartiesTAYLOR v. KNOX COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
CourtKentucky Court of Appeals

Rehearing Denied Feb. 9, 1943.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Knox County; Flem D. Sampson, Judge.

Action by C.J. Taylor, Jr., suing by his next friend, C.J. Taylor Sr., etc., against the Knox County Board of Education to recover for injuries allegedly caused by the negligence of the driver of a school bus owned and operated by the defendant. From an adverse judgment, the plaintiff appeals.

Judgment reversed with directions to overrule demurrer.

Guy L Dickinson, of Barbourville, and Murray L. Brown, of London for appellant.

J. D Tuggle and K. H. Tuggle, both of Barbourville, for appellee.

REES Justice.

C. J. Taylor, Jr., a school child 15 years of age, suing by his next friend, C.J. Taylor, Sr., brought an action against the Knox County Board of Education to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly caused by the negligence of the driver of a school bus owned and operated by the defendant. In an amended petition it was alleged that the defendant carried liability insurance with the American Surety Company of New York, and that the contract of insurance bound the insurer to pay any final judgment rendered against the policyholder for the death of or injury to any school child who was a bona fide pupil in the common schools of Knox county; that the policy covered all school busses owned and operated by the defendant, including the bus in which plaintiff was a passenger at the time of his injury; and that the contract of insurance was entered into for the use and benefit of all the pupils in Knox county, including the plaintiff. It was alleged that the policy contained the following clause:

"Immunity Endorsement"--"It is hereby understood and agreed that in the event a claim arises under this policy on account of accident occurring during the term hereof or in the event suit is brought to enforce such claim the Company will not deny liability by reason of the named insured being a State, County or Municipal Corporation, provided, however, that such claim or suit brought thereon is not in excess of the limit of liability expressed herein."

The limit of liability fixed by the policy was $5,000, and the plaintiff's claim in his petition as amended was for that amount. The court sustained a demurrer to the petition as amended on the authority of Wallace v. Laurel County Board of Education, 287 Ky. 454, 153 S.W.2d 915, 917, the plaintiff declined to plead further, and the petition as amended was dismissed.

On this appeal the appellee relies solely on the opinion in the Wallace case. In that case David Wallace, Jr., a school child, was struck by a passing car and killed as he alighted from a school bus near his home. The accident happened December 20, 1938. On the theory that the negligence of the bus driver was the proximate cause of the accident, the boy's administrator brought an action for damages against the county board of education. It was alleged that the board was protected from liability arising out of the ownership or operation of its school buses by an insurance policy carried by it with the New York Casualty Company, and any judgment which might be obtained against it must be satisfied by the insurer and not out of the school fund or any money raised by taxation. A demurrer to the petition was sustained and the petition dismissed, and this court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. It was held that the county board of education was performing a governmental function in operating the school bus and therefore could not be held liable for the child's death. In the course of the opinion it was said:

"We follow the almost universal rule that a school district or a school board, in the absence of a statute imposing it, is not subject to liability for injuries to pupils of public schools received in connection with their attendance thereat, since school districts or boards of education act as agents of the state in maintaining schools and perform a public or governmental duty, nolens volens, imposed upon them by law for the benefit of the public, and for the performance of which they receive no profit or advantage."

At its 1940 session, the General Assembly of Kentucky passed an act entitled "An Act to provide for the purchase of liability and indemnity insurance against negligence of school bus drivers, and authorizing school boards to purchase same." Chapter 65, Acts 1940, Carroll's Kentucky Statutes, 1941 Supp., sections 4399-20a and 4399-20b. This act, as now compiled in KRS 160.310, reads:

"Each board of education may set aside funds to provide for liability and indemnity insurance against the negligence of the drivers or operators of school busses owned or operated by the board. If the transportation of pupils is let out under contract, the
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35 cases
  • B.L. v. Schuhmann
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of Kentucky
    • May 2, 2019
    ...General Assembly may delegate the authority to waive immunity to the individual county governments. See Taylor v. Knox County Board of Education , 292 Ky. 767, 167 S.W.2d 700, 702 (1942). (The Legislature may empower its political subdivisions to purchase liability insurance for the protect......
  • Christie v. Board of Regents of University of Mich.
    • United States
    • Michigan Supreme Court
    • September 22, 1961
    ...by City of Kingsport v. Lane, 35 Tenn.App. 183, 243 S.W.2d 289, and other Tennessee cases, and by Taylor v. Knox County Board of Education, 292 Ky. 767, 167 S.W.2d 700, 145 A.L.R. 1333. The latter case was decided after enactment of a statute authorizing a school district to create a fund f......
  • Pigg v. Brockman
    • United States
    • Idaho Supreme Court
    • July 18, 1957
    ...education pay the premium out of public funds for nothing and make the policy a virtual fraud.' Taylor v. Knox County Bd. of Edu., 292 Ky. 767, 167 S.W.2d 700, 702, 145 A.L.R. 1333, at page 1335. It is apparent from the endorsement that the insurer intended to and did contract to assume and......
  • Hutsell v. Sayre
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • September 29, 1993
    ...Sec. 153.430(3), "directing the procurance of insurance," despite Sec. 44.073, did not change the rule of Taylor v. Knox County Bd. of Educ., 292 Ky. 767, 167 S.W.2d 700 (1942) and Green River Dist. Health Dep't v. Wigginton, 764 S.W.2d 475 (Ky.1989), and Kestler v. Transit Auth. of N. Ky.,......
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