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Anderson v. State2/11/2005
Plaintiff appeals from an adverse jury verdict in her personal injury action for a fall she sustained on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
Kecia Anderson brought a tort claim against Marilyn Mercado and the State of Iowa for injuries she sustained in a fall on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. Anderson alleged Mercado and the State were negligent in failing to close the library early due to the weather conditions. She also alleged the State was negligent for failing to remove ice from the walkway, a claim based on premises liability. The district court directed a verdict on Anderson's claim against Mercado and the State for their failure to close the library early due to the weather conditions because the decision to keep the library open was a discretionary function. The district court submitted the premises liability case against the State on the theory Anderson was an invitee. The jury returned a verdict adverse to Anderson on the premises liability claim. Anderson appealed contending the decision to keep the library open was not a discretionary function, and the district court erred in its instructions to the jury on the premises liability case. The court of appeals reversed the district court on the issue of discretionary function but affirmed on the errors claimed in the jury instructions. We hold the decision to keep the library open is immune from liability under the discretionary function exception. The court, being evenly divided on the jury instruction issue, affirms the decision of the district court on this issue.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
On February 8, 2001, Anderson arrived at the library on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa in the early evening to study for an exam. The library closed at 12 a.m. Andersen left the library at approximately 11:55 p.m. By that time, a winter storm had caused icy conditions on the campus's streets and sidewalks. As soon as Anderson walked beyond the overhang of the library, she slipped and fell on the ice injuring herself.
The weather on the evening of February 8, 2001 was particularly hazardous because of the storm. Although several employees at the library became concerned as the storm grew worse during the course of the evening, the library remained open. Mercado, the interim dean of the library, was in charge of the library until she left the building sometime after 5 p.m. Linda McLaury, a library assistant, returned to the library from her evening meal around 8 p.m. At that time, McLaury observed the sidewalks were starting to get a little slick. Barb Weeg, a librarian, left the library around 9 p.m. On Weeg's trip home, she observed icy conditions and became concerned for the safety of the students and employees working in the library. Upon arriving home, Weeg called McLaury to report the sidewalks around the university were icy, but the roads in town "were not too bad." Weeg instructed McLaury to contact Mercado about the icy conditions and to inquire whether the library should remain open under these weather conditions. Mercado had the authority to close the library early under severe weather conditions. McLaury called Mercado at her home sometime between 9:30 and 10 p.m.
McLaury expressed Weeg's concerns to Mercado about the weather. Mercado lived in rural Parkersburg, which is several miles away from Cedar Falls, the location of the library. McLaury told Mercado that Weeg told her the "sidewalks were icy," and she thought the student working at the reference desk was concerned and might need to go home. Mercado remembers checking the traffic on the highway in front of her home, bu
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