Langley v. Curators of the University of Missouri

73 S.W.3d 808, 2002 WL 418711
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 30, 2002
DocketWD 60291
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 73 S.W.3d 808 (Langley v. Curators of the University of Missouri) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Langley v. Curators of the University of Missouri, 73 S.W.3d 808, 2002 WL 418711 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Judge.

Appellant Gertrude E. Langley appeals from a summary judgment entered by the Circuit Court of Boone County in favor of Respondent, the Curators of the University of Missouri (“the Curators”).

On August 29, 2000, Appellant filed a petition in the Circuit Court of Boone County against several individual defendants claiming personal injury as a result of medical malpractice. On January 19, 2001, Appellant filed a motion to dismiss all of the individual defendants except Dr. Henry Griffiths, Dr. John Gay, and Dr. Elizabeth Wilson. That same day, Appellant filed her first amended petition adding the Curators as a party defendant with the three individual defendants.

On January 22, 2001, Appellant filed a petition in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis against Dr. Kathleen Paulson, one of the original defendants in the Boone County action, alleging personal injury as a result of medical malpractice arising out of the same events involved in the Boone County action. On February 5, 2001, Appellant filed a motion to dismiss Dr. Grif-fiths, Dr. Gay, and Dr. Wilson from the Boone County action, leaving only the Curators as a party defendant in the Boone County case.- On February 8, 2001, Appellant filed a first amended petition in the St. Louis action adding Dr. Gay and Dr. Wilson, both of whom are Boone County residents, as defendants in that case.

*810 On June 8, 2001, the Curators filed a motion for summary judgment based on the sovereign immunity doctrine. On July 24, 2001, the trial court entered its order granting the Curators’ motion for summary judgment.

In her sole point on appeal, Appellant claims the trial court erred in entering summary judgment in favor of the Curators. In support of her contention, Appellant argues that the Curators waived protection under the sovereign immunity doctrine, pursuant to § 537.610, 1 by way of insurance policies obtained by the Curators.

Curiously, the Curators initially assert that this Court lacks jurisdiction over this appeal through a convoluted argument related to the pending action in the City of St. Louis. The Curators contend that the suit filed in the City of St. Louis is likely to be transferred to Boone County and asserts that, if transfer occurs, the trial court’s judgment in this case would not dispose of all issues. Accordingly, notwithstanding the fact that the Curators were awarded summary judgment below, their position is that we must dismiss the appeal. The Curators’ jurisdictional argument has no merit.

The case pending before the City of St. Louis is not before this Court. This appeal relates solely to the suit filed in Boone County. While the Boone County case originally involved a multitude of defendants, prior to the trial court’s entry of summary judgment, all of the defendants aside from the Curators had been voluntarily dismissed by Appellant. Accordingly, the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the Curators in the Boone County action disposed of all issues pending before the court with regard to all of the parties to that action. Since the trial court’s award of summary judgment in favor of the Curators resolved all issues by determining that Appellant was not entitled to any recovery against the Curators under the allegations contained in the petition, it constituted a final, appealable judgment which we have jurisdiction to review. First Nat. Bank of Annapolis, N.A. v. Jefferson Ins. Co. of New York, 891 S.W.2d 140, 142 (Mo.App. S.D.1995). While the judgment in this case may ultimately affect Appellant’s other suit currently pending in the City of St. Louis in some way, issues of that nature are not implicated in this appeal and do not affect this Court’s jurisdiction. Therefore, we must address the merits of Appellant’s claim that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the Curators.

Our review of the trial court’s decision to grant a motion for summary judgment is essentially de novo, and this Court applies the same criteria as the trial court in determining whether summary judgment was properly granted. Robinson v. Missouri State Highway & Transp. Comm’n, 24 S.W.3d 67, 73 (Mo.App. W.D.2000) (quoting ITT Commercial Fin. Corp. v. Mid-America Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. banc 1993)). “Summary judgment will be upheld on appeal if: (1) there is no genuine dispute of material fact, and (2) the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Id. When considering appeals from summary judgments, we review the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered. Id. ‘Where the record reasonably supports any inference other than those necessary to support a judgment for the movant, a genuine issue of material fact exists and the movant’s motion for summary judgment should be overruled.” J.M. v. Shell *811 Oil Co., 922 S.W.2d 759, 761 (Mo. banc 1996).

“Section 537.600, RSMo 1994, provides that the doctrine of sovereign immunity remains the general rule in Missouri protecting public entities from liability for negligent acts.” Fantasma v. Kansas City, Mo., Board of Police Comm’rs, 913 S.W.2d 388, 391 (Mo.App. W.D.1996). The Curators of the University of Missouri “is ‘a public entity with the status of a governmental body and, as such, is immune from suit for liability in tort in the absence of an express statutory provision.’ ” Brennan by and through Brennan v. Curators of the Univ. of Mo., 942 S.W.2d 432, 434 (Mo.App. W.D.1997) (quoting Krasney v. Curators of Univ. of Mo., 765 S.W.2d 646, 649 (Mo.App. W.D.1989)). “Liability of a political subdivision for torts is the exception to the general rule of sovereign immunity, hence it is incumbent on a party seeking to establish such liability to demonstrate an exception exists.” State ex rel. Ripley County v. Garrett, 18 S.W.3d 504, 509 (Mo.App. S.D.2000).

Under § 537.610, when a public entity purchases liability insurance or duly adopts a self-insurance plan for tort claims, sovereign immunity is waived to the extent of the amount provided and for the specific purposes set forth in the insurance plan. § 537.610; See also Fantasma, 913 S.W.2d at 391; Brennan by and through Brennan, 942 S.W.2d at 434.

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Bluebook (online)
73 S.W.3d 808, 2002 WL 418711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/langley-v-curators-of-the-university-of-missouri-moctapp-2002.