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Herring v. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education5/2/2000
Appeal by plaintiffs and defendants from judgment entered 15 March 1999 by Judge Clarence W. Carter in Superior Court, Forsyth County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 30 March 2000.
Sovereign immunity is a common law theory or defense established by the courts to protect a sovereign or state and its agents from suit. The defendants in this case contend that the trial court erred in denying their summary judgment motion based on the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Because we hold that (1) the doctrine of sovereign immunity applies in this case and (2) the defendants did not waive their immunity through the purchase of liability insurance under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-42, we reverse the trial court's judgment denying the defendants' summary judgment motion.
In January 1995, Ronald Liner, the assistant principal of Lewisville Elementary School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, changed nine-year-old Loryn Herring's bus stop in response to a complaint that she had been assaulted by several boys while on a school bus. Approximately five months later, a vehicle struck Loryn as she crossed East Fifth Street in route to that bus stop. Loryn suffered serious, painful and permanent bodily injuries, including permanent and severe brain damage.
Through her guardian ad litem, Loryn, along with her mother on her own behalf, brought actions against the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education and Ronald Liner. Their complaint alleged that the defendants were negligent, breached fiduciary duties and committed constructive fraud by changing the location of Loryn's bus stop.
The defendants responded by asserting sovereign immunity and moving to dismiss the action under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) stating that:
. . . all conduct by these defendants, or any other employees or agents of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education, which relates in any way to the allegations of injury or damage in the Amended Complaint, was performed by such persons in their official capacity as employees and/or agents of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education and pursuant to its governmental authority. . . . and . . . defendants are immune from any liability or damages resulting from their conduct in pursuit of governmental functions.
The defendants' motion to dismiss was converted into a motion for summary judgment by the subsequent filing of an affidavit and supporting documents.
Additionally, the plaintiffs motioned the trial court to compel arbitration on the grounds that:
1. Insurance policies purchased for Defendant, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education, which cover the allegations in Plaintiff's Amended Complaint allow Defendants to have the controversy submitted to arbitration.
2. As a third party beneficiary of those contracts, Plaintiffs are entitled to have this case submitted to arbitration.
Following a hearing, the trial court denied: (1) the defendants' motion for summary judgment based on the doctrine of sovereign immunity and (2) the plaintiffs' motion to compel arbitration. From this order, both the plaintiffs and defendants appeal; but, because we find that sovereign immunity bars the plaintiffs' claims, we do not reach the issue of whether this matter should have been submitted to arbitration.
I. EXCEPTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY
The defendants contend that because sovereign immunity applies in this case, the trial court erred in denying their summary judgment motion. The plaintiffs, on the other hand, contend that the doctrine of sovereign immunity does not apply because the facts show three exceptions or
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