Keith and Jacqueline Theobald v. Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County, Ohio

332 F.3d 414, 2003 WL 21339845
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJuly 2, 2003
Docket01-3683
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 332 F.3d 414 (Keith and Jacqueline Theobald v. Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County, Ohio) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keith and Jacqueline Theobald v. Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County, Ohio, 332 F.3d 414, 2003 WL 21339845 (6th Cir. 2003).

Opinions

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., C.J., delivered the opinion of the court. RYAN, J. (pp. 418-419), delivered a separate concurring opinion. COHN, D.J. (pp. 419-422), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR., Chief Circuit Judge.

Keith and Jacqueline Theobald, appeal the district court’s grant of a motion to dismiss. The Theobalds being residents of Indiana, jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship and the amount involved. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). They argue on appeal that a vehicle abandoned two feet onto the shoulder of an interstate highway for at least thirty hours is a nuisance under Ohio law. We conclude that such an abandoned vehicle could be a nuisance, but the decision to tow the vehicle is an act within the discretion of the patrolling officer, thus falling under the grant of immunity in Ohio Code § 2744.03(A)(3). We AFFIRM the district court.

While driving west on Interstate 275, Keith Theobald suffered severe injuries in a car accident within the boundaries of the City of Montgomery and Hamilton County, Ohio. His pickup truck was the fourth car in a four-vehicle chain reaction collision. This multi-vehicle accident occurred both on and off the westbound side of Interstate 275. The collision started when a vehicle drifted off the highway and collided with an automobile abandoned on the berm. This collision pushed the moving vehicle back into traffic striking Theobald’s truck. Theobald’s vehicle tumbled across all traffic lanes of westbound Interstate 275 then hit several trees off to the side of the highway. Mr. Theobald was ejected from the vehicle at some point, and he was eventually found by paramedics in the woods some distance from his truck.

The abandoned vehicle which started the chain reaction multi-vehicle collision was parked on the paved shoulder two feet off the far right traffic lane. The owner had abandoned the vehicle when he experienced a fuel system problem. The vehicle had been abandoned for approximately thirty hours. The portion of the Interstate at issue was pajrolled by police officers from both Hamilton County and the City of Montgomery.

After winning a substantial jury verdict against the owner of the abandoned vehicle, the appellants filed a new complaint against several defendants in federal district court claiming that those parties were negligent in failing to keep Interstate 275 free from nuisance. The defendants named in the complaint were Hamilton County’s Sheriff, Highway Department and Board of Commissioners; the City of Montgomery; its Mayor; its Chief of Police; and the State Highway Department. At oral argument the Court was notified that the City of Montgomery defendants had settled with the appellants.

This court reviews de novo a district court’s grant of a motion to dismiss. See Pfennig v. Household Credit Servs. Inc., 286 F.3d 340, 343 (6th Cir.2002). We construe all facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Craighead v. E.F. Hutton & Co., 899 F.2d 485, 489 (6th Cir.1990). A complaint “should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can [416]*416prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California, 509 U.S. 764, 811, 113 S.Ct. 2891, 125 L.Ed.2d 612 (1993). Because this action was brought in Ohio and premised on diversity jurisdiction, this Court is bound by Ohio’s substantive law on nuisance. See Erie v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938). We review the district court’s application of state law de novo. Ziegler v. IBP Hog Market, Inc., 249 F.3d 509, 512 (6th Cir.2001).

In 1985 the Ohio General Assembly enacted the Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act “in response to the judicial abolishment of the doctrine of sovereign immunity.” Franks v. Lopez, 69 Ohio St.3d 345, 632 N.E.2d 502, 504 (1994). The Act granted sovereign immunity to political subdivisions while at the same time creating several exceptions to this general rule. Political subdivisions are generally immune from liability “for injury, death, or loss to persons or property allegedly caused by an act or omission of the political subdivision ... in connection with governmental or proprietary function.” Ohio Code § 2744.02(A)(1). The Act carves out several exceptions to this general rule, and the appellants argue that the nuisance exception found in Ohio Code § 2744.02(B)(3) applies in this situation. This section states “political subdivisions are liable for injury, death or loss to persons or property caused by their failure to keep public roads, highways ... open, in repair, and free from nuisance.” Ohio Code § 2744.02(B)(3).

Even if a case falls within the nuisance exception, a political subdivision can still avoid liability if any of section 2744.03’s immunities and defenses apply. For example, a political subdivision is immune from liability if the employee’s action or failure to act was “within the discretion of the employee with respect to policy making, planning, or enforcement powers by virtue of the duties and responsibilities of the office or position of the employee.” O.R.C. § 2744.03(A)(3). A political subdivision is also immune if the injury resulted from the employee’s “performance of a judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, or quasi-legislative function.” O.R.C. § 2744.03(A)(1). Immunity can be maintained if the conduct was not negligent and was required or authorized by law. O.R.C. § 2744.03(A)(2). The Act provides several other defenses; however, for the purposes of this claim, they are irrelevant.

For the appellants to successfully plead their claim under the Act, they must overcome two hurdles. First, their claim must fall within the 2744.02(B)(3) nuisance exception to the Act’s general grant of sovereign immunity. Second, the defendants’s actions must escape any of the immunities or defenses codified in section 2744.03. As for the first issue, the appellants assert that a vehicle abandoned for thirty hours two feet onto the far right shoulder of a highway are sufficient facts under Ohio law to constitute a nuisance and thus survive Hamilton County’s motion to dismiss. In short, the appellants argue a jury should decide whether Hamilton County’s officers patrolling this portion of the Interstate failed to keep the Interstate open and free from nuisance by failing to have the vehicle towed.

The Ohio case law addressing nuisance under section 2744.02(B)(3) is substantial and encompasses a broad array of circumstances. The district court opinion focused primarily on Williamson v. Pavlovich,

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
332 F.3d 414, 2003 WL 21339845, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keith-and-jacqueline-theobald-v-board-of-county-commissioners-of-hamilton-ca6-2003.