Hemphill v. Sayers

552 F. Supp. 685, 8 Educ. L. Rep. 281, 35 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 758, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16240
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 2, 1982
DocketCiv. 81-4418
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 552 F. Supp. 685 (Hemphill v. Sayers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hemphill v. Sayers, 552 F. Supp. 685, 8 Educ. L. Rep. 281, 35 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 758, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16240 (S.D. Ill. 1982).

Opinion

*687 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

FOREMAN, Chief Judge:

Before the Court are motions to dismiss filed by each defendant. They argue that plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed for failure to state claims upon which relief can be granted. 1 Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

From what the Court can make of plaintiff’s second amended complaint, plaintiff alleges the following: Count I is against defendants Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz for negligence; that count alleges that they failed to warn plaintiff of the dangers of the helmet, and negligently trained, coached, contracted for services, hired and supervised employees. Counts II and III are apparently against defendants Riddell Sporting Goods, Inc. (Riddell) and Bleyer Sport Mart, Inc. (Bleyer) for breach of implied warranties. Ill.Rev.Stat, Ch. 26, Sections 2-314 and 2-315. Count IV alleges that defendants Sayers, Dempsey, Schulz, and Riddell are strictly liable in tort because they “manufactured, sold, furnished, to plaintiff” an unreasonably dangerous football helmet. Count V again sounds in negligence, alleging specific acts. Count Y simply states that “defendants” were negligent, without reference to whom. There are six defendants in this lawsuit; it is unclear as to whom Count Y is directed. Without discussing Count V as to each defendant, the Court believes that it should be dismissed with leave to refile. For plaintiff’s convenience, the Court reiterates its statement in the April 21, 1982 Report of Status Conference: “[I]t has been determined by the Court that it is in the best interest of this litigation that the attorneys for the plaintiff refile a second amended complaint stating further with particularity and in a short concise manner as provided in Rule 8 of the Federal Rules the theories upon which claims for relief are sought, along with stating against which specific defendants are charged.” (emphasis added). Count V should be dismissed with leave to refile.

To add to the confusion, it appears from the briefing that plaintiff intends to include defendants Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz in Counts II and III, which allege warranty theories. It appears to the Court that Counts II and III are directed only to defendants Riddell and Bleyer. However, since the Court believes plaintiff has no warranty action against defendants Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz, their Motion to Dismiss will be considered as to Counts II and III as well. Each Motion to Dismiss will be considered separately.

I. Defendant Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz’ Motion to Dismiss

These defendants, sued in their individual capacities, argue that they are immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment. In the alternative, they argue that plaintiff’s warranty and strict liability claims should be dismissed as to them.

A. Eleventh Amendment

Defendants Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz argue that at all relevant times, they were agents of the State of Illinois, and that Chapter V, Section D.ll, Indemnification Policy of the Policies of the Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University is applicable. That section provides that each employee:

shall be indemnified by the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University against all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by or imposed upon him ... in connection with or resulting from an action, suit, proceeding, claim, or investigation, civil or criminal, to which he ... shall or may be made a party ... by reason, directly, or indirectly, of his action or omission to act in the scope of his appointment as a Trustee, officer, or employee of the University ....

On the basis of this provision, defendants Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz argue that any judgment against them will be paid out of the state treasury, and thus this suit is *688 barred by the Eleventh Amendment. It is submitted that any tort claim against them must be filed in the Illinois Court of Claims pursuant to Ill.Rev.Stat, ch. 37, Section 439.8. The Court disagrees.

It is undisputed that suits against Southern Illinois University must be brought in the Illinois Court of Claims. Ill.Rev.Stat, ch. 37, Section 439.8(d). At issue is whether defendants Sayers, Dempsey, and Schulz, who are being sued in their individual capacities for their alleged acts of negligence committed as employees of Southern Illinois University, must be brought in the Court of Claims. The Court in Watson v. St. Ann Hospital, 68 Ill.App.3d 1048, 25 Ill.Dec. 411, 386 N.E.2d 885 (1st Dist.1979) considered a similar issue and held that Illinois employees are not exempt from liability for their own negligence simply because they were acting in their official capacities. Such a liability suit need not be in the Court of Claims. The Court reasoned that the remedy of damages would not operate to control the action of the State or subject it to liability. Citing Madden v. Kuehn, 56 Ill. App.3d 997, 14 Ill.Dec. 852, 372 N.E.2d 1131 (2d Dist.1978), the Court found that when the negligent acts of state employees are nongovernmental in nature, as opposed to obligations incurred solely by virtue of 'holding a public office, the damage remedy involved would not control the actions of the state.

Any liability of these defendants would not control the actions of the State. As made clear by plaintiff, these defendants are being sued in their individual capacities. Further, the alleged negligent acts of each defendant are not “obligations incurred solely by virtue of holding a public office.” Madden, supra, 14 Ill.Dec. at 855, 372 N.E.2d at 1134. Instead, any liability would flow from negligence in maintaining a football team.

That the Eleventh Amendment does not bar this suit is underscored by the Court’s decision in Rutledge v. Arizona Board of Regents, 660 F.2d 1345 (9th Cir.1981). In Rutledge the Court considered a similar Eleventh Amendment argument. The plaintiff was asserting a negligence claim against a state university’s athletic director and football coach sued in their individual capacities. The Court found that the Eleventh Amendment was not a bar:

The district court extended the Eleventh Amendment bar to these appellees on the ground that “the alleged acts were committed in the interest of the Arizona State University football program” and that nothing suggests that “the alleged conduct falls outside the scope of Kush’s or Maskill’s scope of employment.” This is not sufficient ground to invoke the Amendment’s bar. That bar is not automatically applicable to a suit brought against a state official in his individual capacity alleging the commission by him of a common law tort in the course of his employment. Johnson v. Lankford, 245 U.S. 541, 38 S.Ct. 203, 62 L.Ed. 460 (1918).

Rutledge, supra, 660 F.2d at 1350.

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Bluebook (online)
552 F. Supp. 685, 8 Educ. L. Rep. 281, 35 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 758, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hemphill-v-sayers-ilsd-1982.