BARBARA URSIN, APPELLANT,
v.
LAW ENFORCEMENT INSURANCE COMPANY, LTD., A FOREIGN CORPORATION, FLORIDA SHERIFF'S SELF-INSURANCE FUND, AUBREY ROGERS, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS SHERIFF OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, AL BEATTY, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS DEPUTY SHERIFF OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, AND GEORGE SNIDER, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS DEPUTY OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLEES
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Barbara Ursin sued the Sheriff of Collier County and two deputies for injuries resulting from the escape and criminal actions of a prisoner who had been negligently assigned to a trustee position. The trial court dismissed the complaint based on sovereign immunity, and the appellate court affirmed, holding that sovereign immunity bars recovery in this suit.
Sovereign immunity bars recovery by the plaintiff in this suit against the sheriff and deputies.
[1] Sovereign immunity bars recovery for personal injuries caused by a prisoner negligently assigned to a trustee detail while in the custody of the sheriff.
[2] A sheriff may be protected by sovereign immunity from liability for negligent failure to instruct, supervise, and control his deputies.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Once again we face the difficult task of determining whether sovereign immunity bars recovery by a plaintiff in a suit to recover damages for personal injuries.”
Establishes the core legal issue before the court regarding sovereign immunity as a bar to tort recovery.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceEarl Baumgardt was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and robbery in 1978 and sentenced to twenty years in prison, then committed to the Mentally Disorder…
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[*1283] DANAHY, Judge.
Once again we face the difficult task of determining whether sovereign immunity-bars recovery' by a plaintiff in a suit to recover damages for personal injuries. In this case, the plaintiff has sued the Sheriff of Collier County and two of his deputies. The trial judge held that sovereign immunity protects the defendants from liability in this case and dismissed the complaint with prejudice. In so holding, the trial judge followed the precedents established by this court. Based on those precedents, we affirm.
Since this case was decided on a motion to dismiss, we treat all allegations of the complaint as true. The plaintiff was kidnaped and sexually molested by a man named Earl Baumgardt. In January of 1978, Baumgardt was sentenced to a total of twenty years in prison as a result of his convictions for rape, kidnaping and robbery. He was then committed to the Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders (MDSO) program.
In the latter part of 1980, Baumgardt was returned to Collier County for a hearing on the clarification of his status as an MDSO. Thus he was returned to the custody of the Collier County Sheriff. While awaiting a hearing on his MDSO status, Baumgardt was made a trustee at the Collier County jail and assigned to the trustee kitchen detail. On January 13, 1981, he walked away and within minutes had kidnaped the plaintiff, who was an employee at the Collier County Courthouse. Baum-gardt forced the plaintiff to drive to Lee County, where he sexually molested her. The plaintiff has alleged that Baumgardt’s actions caused her grievous physical and emotional injuries.
The plaintiff’s complaint was in two counts. Count 1 alleged that Baumgardt was negligently assigned to a trustee kitchen detail by the defendant deputy sheriffs while Baumgardt was in the custody, care and control of the sheriff and these two deputies. Count 2 alleges that the Sheriff of Collier County negligently failed to instruct, supervise and control his deputies. All defendants filed motions to dismiss and their motions were granted by the trial judge who dismissed the case. This appeal followed.
We hold that sovereign immunity bars recovery by the plaintiff in this suit. We reach that conclusion based upon the decisions of this court in Rodriguez v. City of Cape Coral, 451 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); City of Cape Coral v. Duvall, 436 So. 2d 136 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (review by supreme court pending); Everton v. Willard, 426 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (review by supreme court pending). In reaching our decision, we acknowledge that it expressly and directly conflicts with the decision of our sister court in Smith v. Department of Corrections, 432 So. 2d 1338 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983).
AFFIRMED.
GRIMES, A.C.J., and RYDER, J., concur.
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Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. Whaley, 574 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 1991)…e. I find that HRS was performing the same function as that performed by the Department of Corrections and the county sheriffs in operating adult prisons or jails. I find that the law, as set forth in Reddish, Ursin v. Law Enforcement Insurance Co., 450 So. 2d 1282 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984), approved, 469 So. 2d 1382 (Fla.1985), and Davis v. State, Department of Corrections, 460 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), controls. I find no difference between the assignment of a fourteen-year-old charged with a felony offense t…
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Davis v. State, 460 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…notwithstanding the officers’ knowledge of the inmate’s record of assaultive behavior, adhered to its former decisions in Everton and City of Cape Coral, and held that sovereign immunity barred recovery. Ursin v. Law Enforcement Insurance Co., Ltd., 450 So. 2d 1282 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). The supreme court’s opinions on the subject have hardly been models of clarity. In Harrison v. Escambia County School Board, 434 So. 2d 316 (Fla.1983), the court upheld a dismissal of a complaint with prejudice, despite factual…
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Carron M. Cutler v. The Bd. OF Regents OF the State OF Fla., 459 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…d 355 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983) (summary judgment error in action for injuries sustained by female high school student while engaged in flag football game); and Relyea v. State, 385 So. 2d at 1382. Contra, Ursin v. Law Enforcement Insurance Company, Ltd., 450 So. 2d 1282 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984) (suit by plaintiff, who was kidnapped and sexually molested by prisoner who escaped while serving as trustee in jail house kitchen barred by sovereign immunity — conflict certified); Rodriguez v. City of Cape Coral, 451 So. 2d 513…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Azor J. Everton, Jr. v. Willard, 426 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)
- Smith v. Dep't OF Corr. OF the State of Fla., 432 So. 2d 1338 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
- City OF Cape Coral v. Duvall, 436 So. 2d 136 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)
- Rodriguez v. City OF Cape Coral, 451 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)