Hazelwood v. Adams

510 S.E.2d 147, 235 Ga. App. 607, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 277, 1998 Ga. App. LEXIS 1580
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedDecember 4, 1998
DocketA98A0971
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 510 S.E.2d 147 (Hazelwood v. Adams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hazelwood v. Adams, 510 S.E.2d 147, 235 Ga. App. 607, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 277, 1998 Ga. App. LEXIS 1580 (Ga. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

Smith, Judge.

Thomas Hazelwood, a student at Coosa High School, brought this action against Rick Howard, the school’s principal, and Steve Adams, the football coach, to recover for personal injuries suffered while he was being disciplined. The trial court granted both Howard’s and Adams’s motions for summary judgment, and Hazelwood appeals. For the reasons that follow, we do not consider the summary judgment granted in favor of Howard. We conclude, however, that the summary judgment in favor of Adams must be reversed because issues of fact remain for jury resolution regarding whether Adams acted with actual malice.

1. OCGA § 5-6-37 requires that the notice of appeal “shall set forth ... a concise statement of the judgment, ruling, or order entitling the appellant to take an appeal.” The trial court granted Howard’s motion for summary judgment on August 28, 1997 and that of Adams on December 2, 1997. We recognize that a litigant has the option of appealing a grant of summary judgment that does not dispose of the entire case either at the time it is issued or at the conclusion of the litigation. Culwell v. Lomas & Nettleton Co., 242 Ga. 242, 243 (248 SE2d 641) (1978); McConnell v. Moore, 232 Ga. App. 700, 701 (503 SE2d 593) (1998). But the litigant must still specify each order appealed. That was not done here. The notice of appeal recites that “Hazelwood hereby appeals . . . from the Order of the Superior Court of Floyd County, dated December 2, 1997,” which is the order granting summary judgment to Adams. We therefore consider only that judgment. See Blackwell v. Cantrell, 169 Ga. App. 795 (1) (315 SE2d 29) (1984).

2. In reviewing the grant or denial of summary judgment, this court conducts a de novo review of the evidence. Goring v. Martinez, 224 Ga. App. 137, 138 (2) (479 SE2d 432) (1996); Gaskins v. Hand, 219 Ga. App. 823, 824 (466 SE2d 688) (1996). Viewed under the standard of Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins, 261 Ga. 491 (405 SE2d 474) (1991), [608]*608with all inferences in favor of Hazelwood, the evidence showed that Hazelwood, a senior, participated in the 1995 “senior prank” at the high school. A group of students went to the campus during the evening of May 20, 1995. The group split in two, with one faction releasing live chickens into the school through a window that had been left unlocked. Four students, including Hazelwood, proceeded to the football field. There, one student, Leaser, removed a gasoline can from a storage shed. While Hazelwood and the others watched, Leaser poured the gasoline onto the center of the football field in an effort to make the figure “95”. Leaser then lit the gasoline and the four students ran.

The students’ identities were discovered eventually, and Hazel-wood was required to take part in a workday at the school one Saturday along with all of the other prank participants. In addition, Principal Howard directed Hazelwood and Leaser to report to Coach Adams after school each day for a week to work under his direction as punishment for damaging the football field. Hazelwood was informed that if he did not fulfill this task, he would not be allowed to participate in graduation exercises. Howard instructed Adams that Hazelwood and Leaser were both to work five hours for him around the football field.

Hazelwood did not report to the coach on Monday, as directed. But he and Leaser did report on Tuesday. Upon arriving at the field, Leaser and Hazelwood were both given “rusty old” household scissors by Adams, and they were told to cut the weeds under the visitors’ bleachers. Hazelwood offered to buy gasoline for the weedeater and use it, but Adams declined. Adams watched the boys cut grass for a few moments and then left to mow the field on a riding mower. The weeds were very thick and difficult to cut, and the two students cut the weeds for over an hour. Hazelwood attempted to kneel to cut the weeds, but Adams insisted that both boys stand while cutting and allowed no rest breaks. Hazelwood had blisters on his hand and his wrist was swollen when he arrived home. Hazelwood said his wrist began to hurt while he was cutting the weeds, but he did not tell Adams. His mother took him to the emergency room, where he was given a brace and pain medication. Thereafter, he was not required to do anything as discipline that involved his •wrist. When he came to school with the brace on his wrist, however, Coach Adams made fun of him.

Adams raised the defense of official immunity. This defense applies to government officials and employees sued in their official capacities. Hemak v. Houston County School Dist., 220 Ga. App. 110, 112 (469 SE2d 679) (1996). The immunity shields government officials and employees from acts that are discretionary, are done in the course of official duty, and are performed without wilfulness or [609]*609actual malice. It does not shield acts that are purely ministerial. Id.; Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744, 752 (6) (452 SE2d 476) (1994). In order to avoid summary judgment, therefore, Hazelwood must show either that Adams’s acts in administering discipline to him were ministerial in nature or that they were done with wilfulness or actual malice.

(a) “A ministerial act is commonly one that is simple, absolute, and definite, arising under conditions admitted or proved to exist, and requiring merely the execution of a specific duty. A discretionary act, however, calls for the exercise of personal deliberation and judgment, which in turn entails examining the facts, reaching reasoned conclusions, and acting on them in a way not specifically directed.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Parrish v. Akins, 233 Ga. App. 442, 443 (504 SE2d 276) (1998). “The task of school officials to monitor, supervise, and control students is a discretionary action protected by the doctrine of official immunity.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Payne v. Twiggs County School Dist., 232 Ga. App. 175, 177 (2) (501 SE2d 550) (1998). See also Daniels v. Gordon, 232 Ga. App. 811, 813 (2) (503 SE2d 72) (1998); Wright v. Ashe, 220 Ga. App. 91, 94 (469 SE2d 268) (1996).

In this case, the principal had initially decided no punishment was merited by the chicken incident because no damage was done to the building. After becoming aware of the fire damage to the football field, however, he decided he should learn the identities of the participating students and then discipline them, thereby demonstrating the discretionary nature of his actions. Upon identifying Hazelwood and Leaser, the principal called their parents and the police. After talking to Mrs. Hazelwood and the others, he decided to impose school discipline and did not pursue formal charges. Regarding the after school work, the type of work to be performed by the two students was left to the coach’s discretion. The principal said: “I had turned that over to Coach Adams. [He] was to contact those two kids and make arrangements for them to do their time.” It is apparent that Coach Adams’s actions were discretionary in nature; they were dependent on his needs as a football coach, his judgment as to the work required for their five hours, and the need to punish the two boys for their actions.

Article I, Sec. II, Par.

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Bluebook (online)
510 S.E.2d 147, 235 Ga. App. 607, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 277, 1998 Ga. App. LEXIS 1580, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hazelwood-v-adams-gactapp-1998.