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Craftsman Builder's Supply Inc. v. Butler Manufacturing Co.3/5/1999
of Fin. Inst., 782 P.2d 506 (Utah 1989). In short, the analysis had nothing to do with whether there was a cause of action for negligent government supervision of financial institutions in 1896. The analysis was based on an assessment of the effect that tort liability would have on government operations.
Condemarin v. University Hospital, 775 P.2d 348 (Utah 1989), was the first case to address the interface between Article I, section 11 rights and sovereign immunity. That case was decided by a majority made up of Justices Durham, Zimmerman, and Stewart. Justice Durham wrote the lead opinion in which Justice Zimmerman concurred to a large extent. Justices Zimmerman and Stewart also wrote separate Concurring opinions. All three Justices agreed that sovereign immunity for tort liability was limited, to some extent, by the rights protected by Article I, section 11. Justices Durham and Zimmerman, relying on due process and Article I, section 11, held that the statutory cap limiting damages to $100,000 per person was unconstitutional in an action against a state-operated hospital. Justice Stewart also held the cap unconstitutional, but relied on the uniform operation of the laws provision, Article I, section 24. In holding that the operation of a state-owned hospital was not subject to immunity, the majority Justices did not look to the common law as it existed in 1896.
The relationship between governmental immunity and Article I, section 11 rights was addressed again by the Court in a more definitive manner after an extensive review of Utah case law from territorial days to the present in DeBry, which sustained governmental immunity with respect to enforcement of building code regulations. DeBry added to the Condemarin analysis by focusing on the historical concept of "core governmental functions," as the key determinant of governmental tort immunity. In DeBry, the plaintiffs asserted a right to sue Salt Lake County for negligence on the ground that the county and its agents, in supervising the building code regulations and in issuing and denying building permits, had negligently caused damage to the plaintiffs. The county defended on the ground of governmental immunity. The Court undertook an extensive review of the history of sovereign immunity and how it had been applied. The Court held that the central concept that had historically and functionally defined governmental immunity over time was that "core governmental functions" were immune from tort liability. In short, governmental immunity should be based on "considerations relevant to the task of providing necessary protection for essential governmental activities." DeBry, 889 P.2d at 440. But those considerations are not static or fixed as of 1896. By necessity, they have been, and must continue to be, somewhat flexible over time as government and its role change in response to the needs and demands of society.
Parenthetically, it should also be noted that this Court has not been hostile to undertaking a realistic appraisal of the potential effect of liability on the need to protect government agencies from lawsuits that might impair their ability to carry out their duties. In addition, this Court has established the doctrine that, apart from governmental immunity, certain kinds of government activities are not subject to liability because there is no tort duty of due care on the part of the government agency or employee, even though the government agency has a "general" duty to protect the public. See, e.g., Madsen v. Borthick, 850 P.2d 442, 444 (Utah 1993); C.T. v. Martinez, 845 P.2d 246, 247-48 (Utah 1992); Ferree v. State, 784 P.2d 149, 151 (Utah 1989). The Court has held government entities not liable for natural catastrophe
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
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