City of Jackson v. Presley
| Docket Number: | 2008-CT-00381-SCT Linked Case(s): 2008-CT-00381-SCT ; 2008-CA-00381-COA ; 2008-CA-00381-COA |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 07-29-2010 Opinion Author: Dickinson, J. Holding: Reversed and rendered. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Personal injury - Tort Claims Act - Reckless disregard - Section 11-46-9 Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson, P.J., Randolph, Lamar, Kitchens, Chandler and Pierce, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: Graves, P.J. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY Writ of Certiorari: yes Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 12-18-2007 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: W. Swan Yerger Disposition: The trial court held that a police officer who was involved in an automobile accident acted in reckless disregard for the safety of others. The Court of Appeals (COA) affirmed the trial court. Case Number: 251-99-465-CIV |
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| Note: | This judgment reverses and renders a previous opinion by the Court of Appeals. See the original COA opinion at: http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/Opinions/CO59989.pdf | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | City of Jackson, Mississippi, and Miranda Morton |
PIETER JOHN TEEUWISSEN, CLAIRE BARKER HAWKINS |
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| Appellee: | Lynda Key Presley | ROBERT P. MYERS, JR. | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Personal injury - Tort Claims Act - Reckless disregard - Section 11-46-9 |
| Summary of the Facts: | Lynda Presley sued the City of Jackson and Officer Morton, alleging that Officer Morton had acted in reckless disregard for the safety of Presley. Following trial, the court entered judgment in favor of Presley and against the City in the amount of $148,763.63, but held that section 11-46-7(2) shielded Officer Morton from personal liability. The City appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | By requiring a finding of reckless disregard of the safety and well-being of others under section 11-46-9 of the Tort Claims Act, the Legislature set an extremely high bar for plaintiffs seeking to recover against a city for a police officer’s conduct while engaged in the performance of his or her duties. The City is immune from liability for acts of negligence, and even gross negligence is not enough. Reckless disregard is the voluntary doing by motorist of an improper or wrongful act, or with knowledge of existing conditions, the voluntary refraining from doing a proper or prudent act when such act or failure to act evinces an entire abandonment of any care, and heedless indifference to results which may follow and the reckless taking of chance of accident happening without intent that any occur. In this case, Officer Morton exercised some measure of safety precaution by employing her blue lights and siren, activating her buzzer to alert traffic while she was crossing the lanes, and crossing one lane at a time. Such actions hardly can be characterized as reckless and indifferent to the safety of others. Furthermore, the record shows that Officer Morton attempted to take alternate routes before she proceeded to the five-points intersection. As a matter of law, her actions do not evince an abandonment of all care, or show a conscious indifference to consequences, amounting almost to a willingness that harm should follow or that her actions were worse than gross negligence. Thus, the judgment of the trial court was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. |
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