Walker v. State

• Decision Date: 12 August 2011
• Docket Number: No. 09–0663.,09–0663.
• Citation: 801 N.W.2d 548
• Parties: Kevin WALKER, Appellee,v.STATE of Iowa, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

801 N.W.2d 548

Kevin WALKER, Appellee,

v.STATE of Iowa, Appellant.

No. 09–0663.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Aug. 12, 2011.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Forrest Guddall and Anne E. Updegraff, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellant.Nicholas W. Platt and Gregory T. Racette of Hopkins & Huebner, P.C., Des Moines, for appellee.WIGGINS, Justice.

While an inmate at the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF), the plaintiff, Kevin Walker, was assaulted by another inmate and seriously injured. Walker brought a tort claim against the State, a correctional officer, and two activity specialists, claiming they negligently failed to ensure his safety. The State sought summary judgment based upon the discretionary function and intentional tort exceptions under Iowa Code section 669.14 (2005). The district court denied the State's motion, and the State filed an application for interlocutory appeal, which we granted. We now affirm the decision of the district court denying the State's motion for summary judgment.

I. Background Facts and Prior Proceedings.

The State acknowledges that some of the underlying facts in the case are disputed, but it claims that it is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. A reasonable fact finder viewing the summary judgment record in the light most favorable to the plaintiff could find the following facts.

CCF is a medium-security correctional prison of the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC). On January 8, 2005, Kevin Walker, an inmate at CCF, had a confrontation with inmate Darrell Humphrey, during the breakfast turn out. ¹ According to Walker, Humphrey, a jailhouse lawyer, approached another inmate, Willie Evans, who was involved in challenging a rules violation, and offered his services for a small fee. When Walker advised Evans that he could handle the matter on his own, Humphrey became angry with Walker and threatened to assault him. Evans then became angry with Humphrey and an argument between the two ensued. This argument continued as the group made its way through the breakfast line.

After going through the line, Humphrey sat at a different table from Walker, Evans, and another inmate, Edward Willingham. As they ate their breakfast, Evans and Humphrey continued to argue, shouting and threatening each other from their respective tables. According to Walker, the argument was louder than any other conversation in the room because the inmates had stopped talking and were listening to the argument. Walker did not report the threats, but asserts Correctional Officer Thomas Walston, who was staffing the breakfast turn out, could hear the argument, including the threats of assault. Officer Walston claims he could not hear the specifics of the conversation. However, after Humphrey left the unit, Officer Walston talked to the remaining inmates involved in the argument and asked them what the problem was and was told everything was fine.

A short time later, Humphrey returned to the unit with David Barnett. Barnett was in a different unit, and it was a rules violation for him to return with Humphrey. Evans and Willingham continued to argue with Barnett and Humphrey, with some pushing and shoving going on. Barnett indicated the argument would be settled at the next turn out, the exercise turn out. He indicated they could fight in the gym because the yard was too cold that day. Walker alleges Officer Walston overheard these statements.

At some point, Officer Walston approached the group and instructed Barnett to return to his unit. He did not, however, instruct Evans, who was on cell restriction, to return to his cell. When Barnett did not leave immediately, Officer Walston escorted him out of the unit during which time Barnett made comments about settling the argument at the next turn out.

During the exercise turn out, Walker went to the gym and played basketball with other inmates. On the other side of the gym, Evans, Humphrey, and Barnett were fighting in a blind spot that could not be seen from the office in the gym.² When the fight was over, Barnett walked over to Walker, and stated something to the effect, “[T]his is what happens when you shoot your mouth off.” Humphrey then approached Walker and assaulted him. The assault knocked Walker unconscious and broke his jaw.

At the time of the exercise turn out, two activity specialists, Noel Bogdanski and Richard Stipe, were on duty in the gym. They did not see the fight involving Evans, Barnett, and Humphrey, or the assault on Walker. Bogdanski was in the office of the gym either handing out equipment or filling out paperwork. Stipe was standing in the door of the gym as the inmates entered and could not see the areas where the two incidents occurred. Both Bogdanski and Stipe were aware of the blind spot in the gym, but did not monitor the area. Officer Walston filled out a disciplinary report regarding the breakfast incident, but not until after Walker was assaulted.

On August 3, 2006, Walker filed a tort claim, pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 669, against the State and the three correctional staff members, claiming injury and damages due to the defendants' negligence in failing to exercise reasonable care to protect Walker from a violent attack by another prisoner. On February 6, 2007, the State Appeal Board denied Walker's claim. Thereafter, Walker filed this petition.

In his petition, Walker contends that (1) Bogdanski and Stipe were negligent in failing to properly supervise the exercise turn out, (2) Officer Walston was negligent for failing to alert Bogdanski and Stipe about the morning confrontations and the threats made about the fight, (3) all of the defendants were negligent in failing to ensure the safety of Walker in light of the dangerous situation that existed in the gym at the time Walker was injured, and (4) all the defendants were negligent for allowing a dangerous condition to exist in the gym. Pursuant to Iowa Code section 669.5(2)( a ), the district court ordered the State substituted for the individually named defendants Walston, Bogdanski, and Stipe. See Iowa Code § 669.5(2)( a ) (2007) (substituting the state for defendant where defendant in a suit was an employee of the state acting within the scope of the employee's employment at the time of the incident upon which the claim is based). Thereafter, the State filed a motion for summary judgment asserting the State was entitled to immunity pursuant to the discretionary function and intentional tort exceptions under Iowa Code section 669.14 (2005).

The State contended the policies of the IDOC permit prison staff to use discretion in taking corrective action in the management of inmate populations and in monitoring and supervising inmates, and therefore, the correctional staffs' actions are entitled to discretionary function exception under Iowa Code section 669.14(1). The State also asserted it is immune from any claim arising from an assault pursuant to Iowa Code section 669.14(4).

The district court denied the State's motion for summary judgment, concluding a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the prison staff involved had knowledge of hostility or a history of prior trouble involving Walker. It did not explicitly address the State's contention that, as a matter of law, the discretionary function or intentional tort exceptions applied. The State filed a motion to reconsider, which the district court overruled. We granted the State's application for interlocutory appeal to determine whether the discretionary function and intentional tort exceptions apply in this case.

II. Scope of Review.

We review the denial of a motion for summary judgment for correction of errors at law. Doe v. Cedar Rapids Cmty. Sch. Dist., 652 N.W.2d 439, 442 (Iowa 2002). Summary judgment is appropriate

if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.981(3); accord Doe, 652 N.W.2d at 442.

A genuine issue of fact exists if reasonable minds can differ on how an issue should be resolved. Seneca Waste Solutions, Inc. v. Sheaffer Mfg. Co., 791 N.W.2d 407, 411 (Iowa 2010). When a fact's determination might affect the outcome of the suit, it is material. Id.; see also Baratta v. Polk County Health Servs., 588 N.W.2d 107, 109 (Iowa 1999).

III. Merits.

A. Iowa Tort Claims Act. The Iowa Tort Claims Act (ITCA) permits an action by a prisoner “when the state negligently permits one in its custody to be injured by the violent assault of another prisoner.” Barnard v. State, 265 N.W.2d 620, 621 (Iowa 1978); cf. United States v. Muniz, 374 U.S. 150, 165, 83 S.Ct. 1850, 1859, 10 L.Ed.2d 805, 816 (1963) (noting the Federal Tort Claims Act allows for damages for employee negligence in failing to protect federal prisoners). Although not an insurer of a prisoner's safety, the state must exercise reasonable care to protect the prisoner from harm. Barnard, 265 N.W.2d at 621. For an inmate to recover for injuries incurred in an attack by another inmate, the inmate must establish: “(1) the state institution knew or should have known that a specific inmate suffered a risk of harm, and (2) the institution failed to use reasonable care to prevent the attack on the inmate.” Speller v. State, 528 N.W.2d 678, 679 (Iowa Ct.App.1995) (citing Mosby v. Mabry, 697 F.2d 213, 215 (8th Cir.1982)); accord Barnard, 265 N.W.2d at 621–622 (noting that while not an exclusive list of circumstances, liability has been imposed when threats, incidents of prior violence, and other reasonable cause to fear physical harm have been brought to the attention of authorities; when there has been a failure to provide adequate supervision; and when authorities have placed known hostile persons where they have access to each other). The question raised is whether the discretionary function and...