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Prentiss County Board of Education v. Beaumont2/14/2002
DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND REMANDED
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 09/22/2000
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. FRANK A. RUSSELL
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: PRENTISS COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
EN BANC
INTRODUCTION
. James H. Holt was employed by Prentiss County Board of Education as a school bus driver. While Holt was in the course and scope of his employment with the Board driving a Prentiss County school bus, a motor vehicle accident occurred, and several people, including Charles Beaumont, were injured.
. In this case brought under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA), Miss. Code Ann. §§ 11-46-1 to -23 (Supp. 2001), we consider whether a trial court erred in refusing to reduce an excess judgment against a governmental entity to the amount of its available liability insurance coverage.
. Beaumont admits that the Board is a "governmental entity" as contemplated under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. See id. § 11-46- 1(g) & (i). Pursuant to § 11-46-17(4), the Board purchased an automobile liability insurance policy from the Hartford Casualty Insurance Company with aggregate limits of $1,000,000. Hartford paid out $449,304.47 for settlement of claims other than Beaumont's personal injury claim and arising from the same accident. Beaumont did not wish to settle his personal injury claim, but proceeded to trial on damages only. The Circuit Court of Prentiss County rendered a judgment in favor of Beaumont in the amount of $800,000. Because there was only $550,695.52 left from the $1,000,000 aggregate limits available for this single occurrence in which to pay Beaumont's judgment, the Board and Holt filed a motion to reduce the judgment to $550,695.52. The trial court denied the motion, stating:
he voluntary settlement of these other claims by [Hartford] does not reduce the applicable limits stated in the insurance policy as they were not a judgment or verdict against the Prentiss County Board of Education.
The statute in question does not allow for a reduction to the "available liability limits" as proposed by the defendants, but only as to "the extent of such excess liability insurance carried."
. The Board and Holt appeal from the trial court's denial of this motion. Since Mississippi is a "single occurrence" state, and given the explicit language of Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-15(3) (Supp. 2001), requiring the reduction here, we reverse and remand for entry of a new judgment in the amount of available liability insurance coverage.
DISCUSSION
. The trial court's statutory interpretation is a question of law which we review de novo. Maldonado v. Kelly, 768 So. 2d 906, 908 (Miss. 2000). Mississippi is a "single occurrence" state under §11-46-15(1). All of the claimants from the school bus accident must therefore share in, and their damages are limited to, the $1,000,000 aggregate limits of coverage from the policy. The trial court's ruling directly contravenes section 11-46-15(3).
. The MTCA provides the exclusive remedy for all claims or suits seeking damages against a governmental entity and its employees. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-7(1) (Supp. 2001). See also L.W. v. McComb Separate Mun. Sch. Dist., 754 So. 2d 1136, 1138 (Miss. 1999). Therefore, § 11-46-15(3), which mandates a reduction of Beaumont's judgment, must be followed. Beaumont seeks to avoid the limitation of liability by arguing, without authority, that the prior payments were voluntary and therefore do not reduce the waiver of immunity. We reject this argument. Negotiating claims that the insurer has an obligation to defend an
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