Fudge v. City of Kansas City

720 P.2d 1093, 239 Kan. 369, 1986 Kan. LEXIS 348
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJune 13, 1986
Docket58,240
StatusPublished
Cited by99 cases

This text of 720 P.2d 1093 (Fudge v. City of Kansas City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fudge v. City of Kansas City, 720 P.2d 1093, 239 Kan. 369, 1986 Kan. LEXIS 348 (kan 1986).

Opinions

[370]*370The opinion of the court was delivered by

Herd, J.:

This is a wrongful death and survival action arising out of an automobile accident. The City of Kansas City and Kansas City police officers appeal from a jury verdict finding them 18% at fault for the accident.

The facts are that on the night of July 29, 1981, and in the early morning hours of July 30, 1981, Delmar Henley was drinking with friends at the Sixteenth Round bar located at 2847 Roe Lane, Kansas City, celebrating his sister-in-law’s birthday. Henley was very drunk, having consumed, by his own estimate, 29 to 30 beers and 10 “kamikazees”. He stumbled around, knocked over chairs and was belligerent, loud and obnoxious. Janice Heckman, the bartender, asked Henley to leave. Henley refused and Ms. Heckman called the Kansas City police. Before the police arrived, all of the bar patrons, including Delmar Henley, left the bar and migrated to the adjoining parking lot.

According to witnesses, two police officers arrived at the scene while Henley was in the parking lot. The officers got out of their cars, approached to within four or five feet of Henley and observed his intoxicated condition. The policemen, Officers Conchóla and Gorham, instructed those patrons remaining in the parking lot to leave the scene. Everyone complied, leaving on foot, except Henley, who left in his car. These same witnesses testified the officers told Henley to get in his car and leave. Henley corroborated this testimony. The policemen denied these statements, testifying instead that they did not see Henley and that there was no disturbance in the parking lot while they were there. Testimony of two other officers who arrived at the parking lot after it had been vacated corroborated the testimony of Conchóla and Gorham.

Janice Heckman testified that when Delmar Henley drove out of the parking lot he veered his car into the southbound lane of Roe Lane, heading north. His action nearly resulted in a collision with a southbound Kansas City police car, which stopped to avoid an accident. Henley then swerved into the proper traffic lane and proceeded north, as the policeman continued south on Roe Lane.

Simultaneously with these events, James E. Fudge left his home with his son, Jamie, to deliver Kansas City Star newspapers to coin-operated dispensers in Wyandotte County. Fudge [371]*371was driving south on Roe Lane when Henley’s car approached from the opposite direction, swerving from lane to lane. Henley’s car collided with Fudge’s delivery van, throwing Fudge out the open door and pinning him beneath the van until firefighters and emergency medical personnel were able to lift the van off him. James Fudge died twenty days later of injuries received in the accident.

The results of a blood alcohol test taken shortly after the accident showed Henley’s blood alcohol level to be .26%. As a result of the accident, Henley was convicted of vehicular homicide and served six months in jail.

The wife and children of James Fudge brought a wrongful death and survival action against Delmar Henley and the City of Kansas City. After a one-week trial, the jury found the decedent 7% at fault, Henley 75% at fault, and the City of Kansas City and the police officers 18% at fault and awarded damages in the amount of $1,095,103.66. The City of Kansas City and the police officers perfected this appeal. Henley was not active in the trial and is not a party to this appeal.

The first issue we will consider on appeal is whether the City of Kansas City was immune from liability for the actions of its law enforcement officers in this case. Determination of this primary issue requires an examination of the Kansas Tort Claims Act, K.S.A. 75-6101 et seq. We recently reviewed the concept of governmental immunity and its common-law and statutory history in this state and need not repeat that background discussion here. See Hopkins v. State, 237 Kan. 601, 608-09, 702 P.2d 311 (1985).

Basically, the Kansas Tort Claims Act makes- governmental liability for tort claims the rule (K.S.A. 75-6103[a]), subject to numerous exceptions (K.S.A. 75-6104). Appellants argue this case fits within three exceptions to the general rule: K.S.A. 75-6104(c), (d) and (m). Prior to considering the application of these exceptions to the present case, we must first consider a preliminary issue.

Before a governmental entity can be liable for damages there must be (1) a negligent or wrongful act or omission by one of its employees; and (2) the employee (a) must be acting within the scope of his employment, and (b) under circumstances where the governmental entity, if a private person, would be liable under [372]*372the laws of this state. Hopkins v. State, 237 Kan. at 609; K.S.A. 75-6103.

In order for an individual to be liable for a negligent or wrongful act, there must be a duty to act. Appellants, relying upon the “public duty doctrine,” argue the City of Kansas City and its police officers did not owe a duty of care to James Fudge. The public duty doctrine provides a governmental entity is not liable for torts committed against a person in absence of a special duty owed to the injured party. Under this doctrine, the police officers owed a duty to the public at large, rather than to any individual. While this issue is raised for the first time on appeal, and thus may not ordinarily be considered (Lostutter v. Estate of Larkin, 235 Kan. 154, 166, 679 P.2d 181 [1984]), we hold that because it involves a legal issue arising from proven facts determinative of a significant issue in the case, it will be considered as an exception to the rule. Wortman v. Sun Oil Co., 236 Kan. 266, 271, 690 P.2d 385 (1984); Pierce v. Board of County Commissioners, 200 Kan. 74, 80-81, 434 P.2d 858 (1967).

Appellants find support for their argument in Hopkins v. State, 237 Kan. at 611, where we stated:

“Defendants correctly state that, as a general rule, the duty of a law enforcement officer to preserve the peace is a duty owed to the public at large. Absent some special relationship with or specific duty owed an individual, liability will not lie for damages. Robertson v. City of Topeka, 231 Kan. at 363. Absent guidelines, police officers are vested with the necessary discretionary authority to act in an appropriate manner to protect the public.” (Emphasis added.)

While Hopkins did not turn on this issue and is thus distinguishable from this case, the foregoing statement of law is the key to the police duty in this case.

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Bluebook (online)
720 P.2d 1093, 239 Kan. 369, 1986 Kan. LEXIS 348, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fudge-v-city-of-kansas-city-kan-1986.