Blavackas v. Worcester State College

6 Mass. L. Rptr. 23
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedAugust 2, 1996
DocketNo. 9502333
StatusPublished

This text of 6 Mass. L. Rptr. 23 (Blavackas v. Worcester State College) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blavackas v. Worcester State College, 6 Mass. L. Rptr. 23 (Mass. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

Quinlan, J.

The plaintiff, William Biavackas (“Biavackas”) filed suit for personal injury arising out of an automobile accident on November 10, 1992. Defendants Worcester State College (“College”) , Board of Trustees of State Colleges (“Board of Trustees”), Board of Regents of Higher Education (“Board of Regents"), Trustees of Worcester State College (“Trustees”), Dr. Kalyan Gosh, Worcester State College Police Department (“college police”) and Officer David Cormier move, pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), to dismiss the plaintiffs complaint on the grounds that it fails to state a claim upon which relief can.be granted. The defendants contend that the complaint is barred by G.L.c. 258, §10(h) and (j). For the reasons stated below, the defendants’ motion to dismiss is allowed.

BACKGROUND

Biavackas alleges that Michael Heffernan (“Heffernan”), a student at the college became “obviously intoxicated’’ at an unauthorized party held in a student’s dorm room. Biavackas, also a student at the college, was seriously injured when Heffernan left the party intoxicated and drove his vehicle from the college campus into the wrong lane of travel and collided with a vehicle operated by Biavackas.

Biavackas further alleges that the resident assistant employed by the college on the evening of November 20, 1992, occupied the dorm room immediately adjacent to the dorm room in which the college students and guests, including Heffernan were consuming alcohol. Biavackas contends that the resident assistant took no steps to prevent the students and guests from becoming intoxicated even though the Tuesday night party was in clear violation of college rules and regulations.

Heffernan then left the party and against the advice of other students attempted to enter his vehicle and to operate it. Students at the party notified the college police to intervene and prevent Heffernan from operating the vehicle. When the college police arrived at the parking lot, they observed Heffernan start the vehicle and drive out of the parking lot.

DISCUSSION

When evaluating the sufficiency of a complaint pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the court must accept as true the well pleaded factual allegations of the complaint as well as any inferences that can be drawn in the plaintiffs favor. Eyal v. Helen Broadcasting Corp., 411 Mass. 426, 429 (1991) (citations omitted). The complaint should not be dismissed unless it appears certain that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts to support the claim which would entitle the plaintiff to relief. Spinner v. Nutt, 417 Mass. 549, 550 (1994); Nader v. Citron, 372 Mass. 96, 98 (1977), quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46 (1957). A complaint is not subject to dismissal if it could support relief under any valid theory of law. Whitinsville Plaza, Inc. v. Kotseas, 378 Mass. 85, 89 (1979).

The defendants contend that the complaint is barred by the public duly exception to the Massachusetts Torts Claims Act (“MTCA”) codified at G.L.c. 258, §10(h) and (j). Sections 10(h) and 10(j) state that the provisions of the MTCA abrogating the common law doctrine of absolute sovereign immunity, shall not apply to:

(h) any claim based upon the failure ... to provide adequate police protection, prevent the commission of crimes, investigate, detect or solve crimes, identify or apprehend criminals or suspects, arrest or detain suspects, or enforce any law, but not including claims based upon the negligent operation of motor vehicles, negligent protection, supervision or care of persons in custody, or as otherwise provided in clause (1) of subparagraph (j).
(j) any claim based on an act or failure to act to prevent or diminish the harmful consequences of a condition or situation, including the violent or tortious conduct of a third person, which is not origi[24]*24nally caused by the public employer or any other person acting on behalf of the public employer . . .

G.L.c. 258, §10 (h) and (j).

Heffernan contends that the college is liable under §10(j) because the resident assistant, as agent of the college “originally caused” the situation by failing to prevent the party from taking place on the campus. Heffernan claims that the college police are also “originally liable” under §10(j) by failing to prevent the intoxicated student from driving off the campus. Justice O’Connor stated in her concurrence in Cyran v. Ware, 413 Mass. 452 (1992), a decision that predated the recent amendments to the MTCA, that public employers should not be liable for situations “in which the plaintiff has been harmed by a condition or situation which was not originally caused by the public employee, and is attributable to the employee only in the sense that the employee failed to prevent or mitigate it.” Cyran, supra at 467. Law Professor Joseph Glannon argues that “Justice O’Connor’s statement that there be something more than the pure failure to alleviate a private harm should be helpful in determining the scope of subsection (j).” Joseph W. Glannon, Liability for “Public Duties” Under the Tort Claims Act: The Legislature Reconsiders the Public Duty Rule, 79 Mass.L.Rev. 17, 26 ( 1994) (emphasis in original). Professor Glannon argues that § 10(j) “requires some involvement of a public employee in creating the initial injury-causing scenario, not simply a failure to respond adequately after it arises.” Id. (emphasis in original).

■ In the case at bar, after drawing all inferences in the Blavackas’ favor, it appears beyond doubt that Blavackas cannot prove that the resident assistant or the college police “originally caused” the situation. The “situation” which caused Blavackas to suffer injury was Heffernan’s own self-inflicted intoxication. The claim that the resident assistant’s failure to prevent the unauthorized party or respond adequately after the party occurred is specifically excluded from liability. Likewise, the claim that the college police failed to prevent the accident by allowing Heffernan to drive off the campus is also specifically excluded from liability. See Makynen v. Mustakangas, 39 Mass.App.Ct. 309 (1995) (officer who stopped an intoxicated driver for speeding on school property but took no further action was held not liable for an auto accident caused by the driver shortly afterwards).

Blavackas next contends that the college police are liable under § 10(j) (2) which provides that tort immunity shall not apply to “any claim based upon intervention of a public employee which causes injury to the victim or places the victim in a worse position than he was in before the intervention.” Blavackas contends that the arrival of the college police to the scene where Heffernan’s vehicle was parked and their failure to stop Heffernan from driving away caused Heffernan to leave the scene in an expedited manner and placed Blavackas in a worse position than he would have been in before the college police arrived. However, it is the opinion of this court that Blavackas can prove no set of facts to support this claim. Accordingly, the exemption provided by §10(j)(2) is not applicable to the present case.

Finally, Blavackas contends that the college is liable for the negligent hiring and negligent supervision of its resident assistant and its college police.

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Related

Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Spinner v. Nutt
631 N.E.2d 542 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1994)
Whitinsville Plaza, Inc. v. Kotseas
390 N.E.2d 243 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1979)
Foster v. the Loft, Inc.
526 N.E.2d 1309 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1988)
Cyran v. Town of Ware
597 N.E.2d 1352 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1992)
Eyal v. Helen Broadcasting Corp.
583 N.E.2d 228 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1991)
Doe v. Town of Blandford
525 N.E.2d 403 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1988)
Nader v. Citron
360 N.E.2d 870 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1977)
Makynen v. Mustakangas
655 N.E.2d 1284 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
6 Mass. L. Rptr. 23, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blavackas-v-worcester-state-college-masssuperct-1996.