Rogers v. City of Youngstown

574 N.E.2d 451, 61 Ohio St. 3d 205, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 1917
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 31, 1991
DocketNo. 90-1500
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 574 N.E.2d 451 (Rogers v. City of Youngstown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rogers v. City of Youngstown, 574 N.E.2d 451, 61 Ohio St. 3d 205, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 1917 (Ohio 1991).

Opinions

Douglas, J.

The primary question presented for our review is whether the city had a duty, pursuant to R.C. 2744.07(A)(1), to defend appellee in the suit filed in federal court by Rogers, appellee’s sister. R.C. 2744.07(A)(1) provides, in relevant part, that:

“Except as otherwise provided in this division, a political subdivision shall provide for the defense of an employee, in any state or federal court, in any civil action or proceeding to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to persons or property allegedly caused by an act or omission of the employee in connection with a governmental or proprietary function if the act or omission occurred or is alleged to have occurred while the employee was acting in good faith and not manifestly outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities. Amounts expended by a political subdivision in the defense of its employees shall be from funds appropriated for this purpose or from proceeds of insurance. * * * ” (Emphasis added.)

[208]*208The city contends that the court of appeals and the trial court erred in concluding that the city wrongfully refused to defend appellee in the federal action. The city argues that R.C. 2744.07(A)(1) does not impose a duty upon it to defend the appellee because appellee’s admissions elicited during the internal affairs investigation and during discovery in the federal action support a finding that appellee was not acting in “good faith,” and was “manifestly outside the scope of his employment.” Thus, according to the city, it was “appropriate” to refuse to defend appellee or provide him with defense counsel during the federal court action. The city also argues that a duty did not exist because Rogers did not specifically allege in her federal complaint that appellee was acting in good faith. It is the city’s contention that “[t]his lack of ‘good faith’ is the fatal flaw in [ajppellee’s case.”

We believe the city’s arguments lack merit. For the most part, the city chooses not to focus on the allegations contained in the complaint itself but, rather, finds support for its position by dwelling upon matters that transpired prior to and after the federal complaint was filed. In so doing, the city ignores the mandatory and disjunctive language contained in R.C. 2744.-07(A)(1).

R.C. 2744.07(A)(1) is clear and unequivocally sets forth that “a political subdivision shall provide for the defense of an employee, in any state or federal court * * * if the act or omission occurred or is alleged to have occurred while the employee was acting in good faith and not manifestly outside the scope of his [or her] employment.” (Emphasis added.) As can be gleaned, the duty of a political subdivision to defend one of its employees may arise from a reading of allegations contained in a complaint filed by a plaintiff who seeks redress from the subdivision’s employee. Accordingly, the question presented in the instant cause is whether the allegations contained in Rogers’s complaint triggered a duty on the part of the city to defend or provide appellee with legal counsel in the federal suit.

Turning our attention to the allegations contained in Rogers’s federal complaint, we answer this question in the affirmative and find that the city, pursuant to R.C. 2744.07(A)(1), did, indeed, breach a duty to defend or provide appellee with legal counsel. In the “Introduction” of the complaint, Rogers alleged that appellee “ * * * unlawfully assaulted and beat Plaintiff, in violation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, while * * * [appellee] was in uniform and on duty as a police officer of the Youngstown Police Department.” In paragraph six of the complaint, Rogers averred that appellee was a “duly appointed officer of the police department” and that appellee was “acting in such capacity as the agent, servant, and employee of the Defendants.” Rogers also alleged, in paragraph ten, that appellee “arrived at her [209]*209home in a police department vehicle” and he was in “uniform and armed.” Moreover, in paragraph twenty-eight, Rogers charged that appellee “ * * * while acting within the scope of his employment by the Defendant City of Youngstown assaulted and battered the Plaintiff.” (Emphasis added.)

The city’s argument that a duty to defend did not exist because Rogers did not specifically set forth in her complaint that appellee was acting in “good faith” is not well-taken. We cannot conceive a situation where a plaintiff who sues a political subdivision and an employee of the subdivision would allege, in his or her complaint, that the employee was acting in good faith. Such an allegation would be incongruous with suing the employee in his or her individual capacity.

Thus, we believe that even though Rogers did not specifically allege that appellee was acting in good faith, the city unjustifiably refused to defend appellee and, for this reason, the city failed to comply with the mandates of R.C. 2744.07(A)(1). Therefore, we hold where a political subdivision wrongfully refuses to defend a suit commenced against a police officer employed by the subdivision, and the officer subsequently brings a declaratory judgment action against the subdivision to determine the subdivision’s obligation to defend, the political subdivision must pay the attorney fees, expenses and costs incurred by the police officer, both in the action which the subdivision failed to defend and in the declaratory judgment action.

Having determined that the city’s refusal to defend appellee was a violation of R.C. 2744.07(A)(1), we now turn our attention to the city’s contention that the court of appeals erred in finding that the $1,500 received by the appellee from the F.O.P. was not deductible from appellee’s award. It is the city’s contention that the money advanced by the F.O.P. is a benefit pursuant to R.C. 2744.05(B)1 and, therefore, the city should be entitled to set off this advance against any award granted appellee.

The city’s contention is misplaced. In Vogel v. Wells (1991), 57 Ohio St.3d 91, 566 N.E.2d 154, we recently addressed what constitutes “benefits” in the context of R.C. 2744.05(B) and stated:

[210]*210“In order to determine what funds come under the purview of the collateral source setoff provisions of R.C. 2744.05(B), we must first ascertain what the term ‘benefits’ means in relation to the statute. The term ‘benefits’ is nowhere defined in the statute. However, a benefit has been defined elsewhere as ‘[financial assistance received in time of sickness, disability, unemployment, etc. either from insurance or public programs such as social security.’ Black’s Law Dictionary (6 Ed.1990) 158. Under this definition, which we adopt here, neither the gift from the decedent’s employer nor the payment of funeral expenses by the decedent’s father constituted benefits under R.C. 2744.05(B), and the court of appeals was correct in restoring these funds to the decedent’s estate.” Id. at 98, 566 N.E.2d at 161.

In the case at bar, the $1,500 receiyed by appellee from the F.O.P. does not fall within the definition of “benefits” as adopted by this court in Vogel. It appears, from a reading of the opinions of the trial court and the court of appeals, that the F.O.P. would be reimbursed by appellee upon a finding that the city wrongfully refused to defend appellee. What the city characterizes as a benefit is actually nothing more than a conditional loan.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
574 N.E.2d 451, 61 Ohio St. 3d 205, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 1917, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rogers-v-city-of-youngstown-ohio-1991.