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Hull v. Wellston Independent School District I 00412/14/2001
ility upon governmental entities and employees found guilty of gross and wanton negligence when such negligence proximately causes injury. Such a provision is not included in the GTCA. Moreover, the relevant provision of the Kansas act pertains to governmental entities and their employees, whereas section 155(20) specifically exempts political subdivisions, such as school districts. Lanning, therefore, is unpersuasive.
School District calls our attention to United States v. Shearer, 473 U.S. 52, 105 S. Ct. 3039 (1985), which we find instructive. There, an off-duty Army serviceman was kidnapped and murdered by another serviceman. The decedent's mother sued the Army under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), alleging that the Army's negligence in controlling the attacker and in warning of his dangerous propensities caused her son's death.
The Supreme Court held that the FTCA barred the mother's claim against the Army. Id. at 55, 105 S. Ct. at 3041. The Court explained that the FTCA's waiver of sovereign immunity does not apply to claims arising out of assault or battery. The Court further explained, "it is clear that [the mother's] claim arises out of the battery committed by [the Army serviceman]. No semantical recasting of events can alter the fact that the battery was the immediate cause of [the decedent's] death and, consequently, the basis of [the mother's] claim." Id. at 54-55, 105 S. Ct. at 3041. The Court added, "[The mother] cannot avoid the reach of [the statute] by framing her complaint in terms of negligent failure to prevent the assault and battery. [The statute] does not merely bar claims for assault or battery; in sweeping language it excludes any claim arising out of assault or battery." Id. at 55, 105 S. Ct. at 3041.
Similarly, we conclude that Deborah cannot escape the reach of section 155(20) by recasting her complaint in terms of negligent/wanton and reckless hiring. Section 155(20) excludes any claim resulting from participation in or practice for athletic contests sponsored or conducted by, or on the property of, the school district. Because Deborah's negligent/wanton and reckless hiring claim is based upon an injury to Ty which resulted from his participation in a practice football game, and because this claim would otherwise lack legal significance, it is precluded by section 155(20).
Although Deborah has cited several additional cases from Oklahoma and other jurisdictions, she has provided no authority which supports her contention that School District's negligent or wanton and reckless hiring of employees places it outside the protection of the GTCA. Therefore, we are bound by our Supreme Court's decisions in Curtis and Evans and conclude that the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of School District.
CONCLUSION
This court is not unsympathetic to Ty's injuries. However, section 155(C) of the GTCA must be strictly construed and it provides immunity to school districts for claims resulting from participation in or practice for interscholastic or other athletic contests sponsored or conducted by, or on the property of, the school district. The trial court's grant of summary judgment is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
REIF, V.C.J., and GOODMAN, P.J., concur.
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