Spencer v. Greenwoord/Leflore Airport Auth.
| Docket Number: | 2001-CA-00027-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 01-09-2003 Opinion Author: Waller, J. Holding: Reversed and Remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Tort Claims Act - Airport authority - Joint airport board - Section 11-46-1(i) - Section 61-5-47 - Purchase of liability insurance Judge(s) Concurring: Pittman, C.J., Smith, P.J., Cobb, Easley and Carlson, JJ. Judge(s) Concurring Separately: Diaz, J., Concurs with Separate Written Opinion Joined by McRae, P.J., and Graves, J. Procedural History: Dismissal Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 11-08-2000 Appealed from: Leflore County Circuit Court Judge: W. Ashley Hines Disposition: The circuit court granted a motion to dismiss, finding that the Airport Authority was not an "airport authority," as defined by statute, but was an "airport board," as defined by statute. Case Number: 98-0076CI |
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| Note: | PITTMAN, C.J., SMITH, P.J., COBB, EASLEY AND CARLSON, JJ., CONCUR. DIAZ, J., CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY McRAE, P.J., AND GRAVES, J. | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Joe P. Spencer |
ANDRE FRANCIS DUCOTE
WAYNE E. FERRELL, JR. |
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| Appellee: | Greenwood/Leflore Airport Authority a/k/a Greenwood/Leflore Airport Board and Leflore County Board of Supervisors | CHARLES J. SWAYZE, JR. LOUIS FERREE ALLEN WILLIE JAMES PERKINS, SR.. |
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| Topic: | Tort Claims Act - Airport authority - Joint airport board - Section 11-46-1(i) - Section 61-5-47 - Purchase of liability insurance |
| Summary of the Facts: | Joe Spencer filed a complaint against the Greenwood-Leflore Airport Authority a/k/a Greenwood-Leflore Airport Board, the City of Greenwood, and the Leflore County Board of Supervisors, alleging he sustained damages while landing his aircraft at the Greenwood/Leflore County Airport. The Airport Authority filed a motion to dismiss which the court granted. After a M.R.C.P. 54(b) certification, Spencer appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Airport authority The motion to dismiss is treated as a motion for summary judgment since a copy of the resolution which created the Airport Authority was attached to the motion to dismiss. Spencer argues that the court erred by holding that the Airport Authority could not be sued. The Airport Authority argues that it is a "joint airport board" created by joint resolution of the City of Greenwood and of the County of Leflore and not an "airport authority" and that section 61-5-37 does not confer to joint airport boards the capacity to sue or to be sued. Section 11-46-1(i) defines a political subdivision as any body politic or body corporate responsible for governmental activities. Section 61-5-47 provides that the exercise of power by a joint airport board constitutes a public and governmental function, exercised for a public purpose, and a matter of public necessity. Therefore, a joint airport board which exercises powers which are declared to be public and governmental functions, exercised for a public purpose, and matters of public necessity, as does the Airport Authority here, is a "political subdivision" under the Tort Claims Act and may be sued. Issue 2: Liability insurance Spencer argues that because the Airport Authority purchased liability insurance, it should be equitably estopped from raising defenses that assert it is immune from lawsuit. The Tort Claims Act, not an insurance policy which may be purchased, governs to what extent governmental entities have potential liability. |
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