 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Stewart v. State12/20/2000
307(a)(1)(E) is worded in the conjunctive with the word "and"; therefore for jurisdiction to exist in this case, the State contends that Trooper Ray must have been negligent in his care of the deputies, in his custody of the deputies, and in his control over the deputies. Cf. Tenn. Code Ann. ยง 9-8-307(a)(1)(F) (listing the requirements in the disjunctive with the word "or"); -307(a)(1)(G) (listing the requirements in the disjunctive with the word "or"). The State then argues that because the plaintiff does not allege that Trooper Ray had responsibility for the care or custody of the local deputies, the Claims Commission could not have properly exercised jurisdiction.
The State is correct in asserting that statutory phrases separated by the word "and" are usually to be interpreted in the conjunctive. Cf. Tennessee Manufactured Hous. Ass'n v. Metropolitan Gov't of Nashville, 798 S.W.2d 254, 257 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1990) (stating that the word "`and' is a conjunctive article indicating that the portions of the sentence it connects should be construed together"). Nevertheless, this Court has also recognized that the word "and" can also be construed in the disjunctive where such a construction is necessary to further the intent of the legislature. City of Knoxville v. Gervin, 169 Tenn. 532, 541, 89 S.W.2d 348, 352 (1936) ("The word `and' is frequently construed as meaning `or.' These words are interchangeable in the construction of statutes when necessary to carry out the legislative intent."). Although we generally presume that the General Assembly purposefully chooses the words used in statutory language, Federal Express Corp. v. Tennessee State Bd. of Equalization, 717 S.W.2d 873, 874 (Tenn. 1986), it is difficult to conceive that the legislature intended to deny jurisdiction in cases where negligent control of a person by a state employee resulted in injury , even though the injured person was not actually within the care or custody of the state employee. Liberally construing this statute, therefore, we conclude that the Claims Commission could properly assert jurisdiction under section 9-8- 307(a)(1)(E) if Trooper Ray had a legal duty to control local police authorities at an arrest scene-irrespective of whether he had actual care and custody over the deputies-and if he was negligent in the fulfillment of that duty.
From our review of the relevant legal authorities, however, it seems clear that Trooper Ray was under no general legal duty to control local law-enforcement officials at an arrest scene. To be sure, Trooper Ray did have a duty to exercise reasonable care with regard to his own actions at the arrest scene, but the Claims Commission and the Court of Appeals essentially held that Trooper Ray was negligent by not controlling the actions of others at the scene. We have been unable to find any statute or regulation that imposes upon state highway patrol officers the duty or obligation to control local police authorities at an arrest scene, and we are unable to find any statute or regulation that compels county law-enforcement officials to submit to the control of state highway patrol officers at the scene of an arrest.
In addition, we have found no case from any court in this state suggesting that Trooper Ray was under a common-law duty to control or supervise county police authorities at the arrest scene, and we are reluctant to impose such duty in this case without some precedential authority to do so. As we have recognized before, the imposition of a legal duty "reflects society's contemporary policies and social requirements concerning the right of individuals and the general public to be protected from another's act or conduct." McClung v. Delta Square Ltd. Partnership, 937 S.W.2
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|