BOYER-GLADDEN v. Hill

2010 WY 12, 224 P.3d 21, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 13, 2010 WL 437018
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 9, 2010
DocketS-09-0102
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2010 WY 12 (BOYER-GLADDEN v. Hill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
BOYER-GLADDEN v. Hill, 2010 WY 12, 224 P.3d 21, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 13, 2010 WL 437018 (Wyo. 2010).

Opinions

VOIGT, Chief Justice.

[11] The appellant claims that, while she was a pretrial detainee in the Laramie County Detention Facility, she was sexually assaulted by a detention deputy. She sued both the deputy and the sheriff who employed him, alleging assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent failure of the sheriff to supervise the deputy, and deprivation of her civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2003). She now appeals from the district court orders granting summary judgment both to the deputy and to the sheriff on all causes of action.

[12] We affirm in part and reverse in part.

ISSUES

[T3] The parties' disjunctive identification of the appellate issues in their respective briefs not being conducive to structured analysis, we will restate the issues as follows:

1. Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment against the appellant on the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act claim?

2. Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment to the deputy on the state law tort claims?

3. Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment to the deputy on the federal civil rights claim?

[24]*244. Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment to the sheriff on the state law tort claims?

5. Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment to the sheriff on the federal civil rights claim?

FACTS

[T4] The undisputed material facts relevant to this appeal are not many. On November 9, 2004, the appellant was a pretrial detainee incarcerated in the Laramie County Detention Facility. While she was mopping the floors in the "pod" that evening, she was sexually assaulted by a detention deputy.1 Upon learning about the sexual assault, the sheriff suspended, and then terminated, the deputy's employment on the ground that sexual contact between inmates and detention deputies violated the policies of the sheriffs office.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[15] Summary judgments governed by W.R.C.P. 56(c): are

The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
A district court's summary judgment ruling is reviewed de novo, using the same materials and following the same standards as the district court. The evidence is considered from the vantage point most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and we give that party the benefit of all favorable inferences that may fairly be drawn from the record.
The summary judgment movant bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case for summary judgment by showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that judgment should be granted as a matter of law. He must present admissible evidence to meet his burden.
If the party seeking summary judgment carries his burden, the opposing party must present specific facts to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact exists....
After a movant has adequately supported the motion for summary judgment, the opposing party must come forward with competent evidence admissible at trial showing there are genuine issues of material fact. The opposing party must affirmatively set forth material, specific facts in opposition to a motion for summary judgment, and cannot rely only upon allegations and pleadings[ ], and conclusory statements or mere opinions are insufficient to satisfy the opposing party's burden.
The evidence opposing a prima facie case on a motion for summary judgment must be competent and admissible, lest the rule permitting summary judgments be entirely eviscerated by plaintiff's proceeding to trial on the basis of mere conjecture or wishful speculation. Speculation, conjecture, the suggestion of a possibility, guesses, or even probability, are insufficient to establish an issue of material fact.

Alloway v. RT Capital, Inc., 2008 WY 123, ¶¶ 5-8, 193 P.3d 713, 715-16 (Wyo.2008) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). In reviewing the grant of a summary judgment, we do not defer to the district court as to issues of law. Luhm v. Bd. of Trs. of Hot Springs County Sch. Dist. No. 1, 2009 WY 63, ¶ 7, 206 P.3d 1290, 1294 (Wyo.2009). We may affirm a grant of summary judgment on any proper legal basis supported by the record. Id.

DISCUSSION

Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment against the appellant on the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act claim?

[16] The Wyoming Governmental Claims Act (WGCA) provides at Wyo. Stat. [25]*25Ann. § 1-89-112 (LexisNexis 2009) that "[al governmental entity is liable for damages resulting from tortious conduct of peace officers while acting within the scope of their duties." A detention deputy is a peace officer under the WGCA. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-103(a)(fiii) (LexisNexis 2009); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-2-10l(a)Giv)(H) (LexisNexis 2009). To proceed under the WGCA, a claimant must present his or her claim to the governmental entity within two years of the alleged act, error or omission. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-113(a) (LexisNexis 2009). Of particular importance in the instant case is the additional statutory mandate that an action against a governmental entity is forever barred unless it is "commenced" within one year after the date the claim was presented to the governmental entity. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-114 (LexisNexis 2009). W.R.C.P. 3(b) defines "commenced" in the context of a statute of limitations:

(b) When commenced.-For purposes of statutes of limitation, an action shall be deemed commenced on the date of filing the complaint as to each defendant, if service is made on the defendant or on a co-defendant who is a joint contractor or otherwise united in interest with the defendant, within 60 days after the filing of the complaint. If such service is not made within 60 days that action shall be deemed commenced on the date when service is made. ...

(Emphasis added.)

[T7] The sexual assault occurred on November 9, 2004. The appellant's claim was presented to Laramie County on June 15, 2006, well within the two-year period mandated by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-118(a).2 The appellant filed her complaint in district court on December 22, 2006. It is significant that, while this filing occurred within the one-year limitation period of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-114, the deputy was not served with a copy of the complaint until October 5, 2007. Consequently, pursuant to W.R.C.P. 3(b), the suit was not "commenced" until that date, which was outside the one-year statutory period. As a result, the appellant's state law tort claims against the deputy under the WGCA are time-barred, and the district court must be affirmed in that regard.3 The appellant conceded as much below.

Did the district court appropriately grant summary judgment to the deputy on the state law tort claims?

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 WY 12, 224 P.3d 21, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 13, 2010 WL 437018, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boyer-gladden-v-hill-wyo-2010.