Schwenke v. American Samoa Government

4 Am. Samoa 3d 41
CourtHigh Court of American Samoa
DecidedJanuary 12, 2000
DocketCA No. 23-97
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Am. Samoa 3d 41 (Schwenke v. American Samoa Government) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering High Court of American Samoa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schwenke v. American Samoa Government, 4 Am. Samoa 3d 41 (amsamoa 2000).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiffs are the parents, brothers, and sisters of decedent Raymond Tauese Schwenke (“Raymond”). They sued defendants American Samoa Government (“ASG”) and Toleafoa Leiato (“Leiato”) for damages. They allege that ASG’s employees were negligent in failing to protect Raymond from committing suicide while Raymond was a prisoner at ASG’s Correctional Facility (“CF”), and that this negligence was the proximate cause of Raymond’s death.

Plaintiffs are pursuing their cause of action under the Government Tort Liability Act, A.S.C.A. §§ 43.1201-.1213. This act provides for an exclusive remedy against ASG and insulates ASG’s officers and employees acting within the scope of their employment from suit. A.S.C.A. § 43.1207. Leiato, who was the CF’s warden at the time of Raymond’s death, was such an employee. Thus, on June 8, 1998, on ASG’s motion and with plaintiffs’ concurrence, the Court dismissed the action against Leiato.

The case proceeded to trial on August 19 and 20, 1999. At the beginning of the trial, ASG raised the sufficiency of plaintiffs’ designation of Raymond’s next of kin in wrongful death actions, as required by A.S.C.A. § 43.5001(b). Although the case caption is general, the body of the complaint does identify Raymond’s parents, Pisa Schwenke (“Pisa”) and Sina Schwenke (“Sina”), and siblings, Pisa Pisa, Jr. (“Pisa, Jr.”), Joanna Levi (“Joanna”), Henry Schwenke (“Henry”), Jerry Schwenke (“Jerry”), Sulusi Schwenke (“Sulusi”), Siulagi Schwenke (“Siulagi”), and Afele Schwenke (“Afele”). No evidence of other next of kin was presented during the trial. Thus, we hold that the designation of Raymond’s next of kin is sufficient for purposes of this case. See Saufo'i v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, 14 A.S.R.2d 51, 52-53 (Trial Div. 1990).

I. Facts

The parties stipulate that following his conviction of assault in the third degree, Raymond was a prisoner at the CF serving a five year term of [44]*44detention as a condition of probation; that on July 1, 1995, at 3:00 a.m., Raymond attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself with electric wire; and that later the same day, at 4:47 p.m., Raymond committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope.

Other relevant facts are not seriously in dispute. Raymond began serving his five year detention period on May 22, 1995. Raymond escaped from the CF on June 24, and was returned to the CF on June 28. Raymond was then placed in a holding cell, which allowed for closer monitoring than other cells. The holding cell was visible from the CF’s receiving desk 30 or less feet away. Because the floor in the holding cell was frequently wet from flushing the toilet, a cot for sleeping, rather than a mat, was brought to the cell. However, the cot frame was tied together with electric wire and fishing net rope.

At 3:00 am, on July 1, 1995, during a routine check, CF Officers Solovaa Mageo and Liaiga Seui discovered bruises on Raymond’s neck. They searched Raymond’s cell and discovered a piece of electric wire and a piece of glass, which they removed from the cell. They found nothing else unusual in the cell. Raymond indicated that the glass was simply a mirror. The CF officers concluded that Raymond has attempted to kill himself using the electric wire.

The watch commander that night, CF Officer Fauamoli Taufete'e Ah Mu (“Ah Mu”) counseled Raymond for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. She spoke to Raymond about the marks on his neck and advised him that it was against God’s will to commit suicide. She also reminded him of his family. According to Ah Mu, Raymond seemed to be “O.K.” and happy after the counseling. He indicated that he was tired and wanted to sleep. Raymond was returned to the holding cell.

Part of the guard duty at the CF entails checking inmates’ cells every half hour. In actuality, at the time of Raymond’s suicide, cell checks occurred between every half hour and every hour due to the length of time it takes to check all the cells with a duty staff of only two to four guards. The CF officers continued to check on Raymond after returning him to the holding cell. However, this was done more often, approximately every half hour, to ensure his safety. At the end of the shift at 6:00 a.m., Ah Mu informed the incoming watch commander about Raymond’s attempted suicide.

On the afternoon of the same day, July 1, Raymond refused to eat dinner at the 4:00 p.m. regular mealtime. He was last seen alive at approximately 4:25 p.m., when CF Officer Kilisitina Simanu (“Simanu”) checked Raymond’s cell. Simanu then found Raymond, at approximately 4:47 p.m., hung by his neck in his cell. Raymond hung himself with the rope that had been used to tie his cot together.

[45]*45II. Governmental Immunity

Under the Government Tort Liability Act, A.S.C.A. §§ 43.1201-.1213, ASG is generally liable in the same manner and to the same extent as private individuals, but is immune from liability for “any claim based upon the exercise or performance of, or the failure to exercise or perform, a discretionary function or duty of an officer or employee.” A.S.C.A. §§ 43.1203(a), (b)(2). Section 43.1203(b)(2), almost identical to its counterpart in the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C.A. § 2680(a), means that ASG is immune from liability if the activity its officer or employee was performing is deemed discretionary.

This Court’s interpretations have come to differing conclusions as to the proper standard for what constitutes discretionary functions. Two cases, Savage v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, 1 A.S.R.2d 102, 105-06 (Trial Div. 1983) and Ala v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, 2 A.S.R.3d 163, 168-69 (Trial Div. 1998), utilize the traditional distinction between activities at the “planning level” and those at the “operational level.” Under this distinction, actions at the planning stage are considered discretionary and are therefore afforded immunity, while actions undertaken to carry out government programs are not afforded such protection. See Berkowitz v. United States, 486 U.S. 531, 546-47 (1988).

The Savage Court found ASG liable for general failure to provide adequate security measures when its officers and employees knew a particularly vicious stray dog was roaming in ASG’s housing area. The Court found that ASG could not claim discretionary immunity for failure to act in the face of a known danger. Savage, 1 A.S.R.2d at 106.1 Similarly, the Ala Court determined that only governmental action based on considerations of public policy are considered discretionary, and denied immunity for the failure to maintain a public restroom. Ala, 2 A.S.R.3d at 168-69.

The Court revisited the issue of what constitutes discretionary action in the recent case of Gibbons v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, 3 A.S.R.3d 135 (Trial Div. 1999). Gibbons involved the tortious acts of an escaped CF prisoner. In analyzing whether the CF officers’ actions constituted a discretionary function, the Gibbons Court followed the standard enunciated in United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 322-23 (1991). Gibbons, 3 A.S.R.3d at 139. The Gaubert standard is one in which “discretionary functions” were defined as acts which “involve an element of judgment or choice.” Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 322-23. In [46]*46defining discretionary functions in this way, the Gibbons

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Bluebook (online)
4 Am. Samoa 3d 41, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schwenke-v-american-samoa-government-amsamoa-2000.