RAY, Judge.
This case arises from an investigation of an alleged assault involving a student of Agnes Scott College (hereinafter, "ASC"), in DeKalb County, Georgia, which resulted in Amanda Hartley's arrest for aggravated and sexual battery, sexual battery, and simple battery. After the District Attorney dropped the charges, Hartley filed suit against ASC and three of its campus policemen, Gaetano Antinozzi, Gregory Scott, and Henry Hope (collectively, "Defendants"). In her complaint, Hartley raised claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and punitive damages. Defendants moved to dismiss Hartley's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to official immunity and failure to state a claim. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Defendants' motion to dismiss. This Court granted Defendants' application for interlocutory appeal. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the trial court's decision.
"On appeal, this Court reviews the denial of a motion to dismiss de novo. However, we construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the plaintiff with any doubts resolved in the plaintiff's favor." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Ga. Dept. of Community Health v. Data Inquiry, LLC, 313 Ga.App. 683, 722 S.E.2d 403 (2012).
(Citation omitted.) Smith v. Germania of America, 249 Ga.App. 587, 588(1), 549 S.E.2d 423 (2001).
So viewed, the abbreviated record on the motion to dismiss shows that an ASC student reported that Hartley sexually assaulted her in her ASC dorm room. The student made the initial report to Scott, who informed Antinozzi.
Hartley's complaint alleges that a "reasonable investigation" would have established that Hartley was not at the student's dorm at the time of the alleged assault. Rather, she was in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the time in question. The complaint further alleges that a "reasonable investigation" would have revealed that ASC's dorm logs show that Hartley had never been in the student's dorm and that no independent witness could testify that they had ever seen Hartley there. Two days after the reported assault, Antinozzi sought arrest warrants for Hartley on charges of aggravated sexual battery, battery, and sexual battery.
Upon obtaining arrest warrants against Hartley, Antinozzi contacted the Knoxville Police department and initiated proceedings resulting in Hartley's arrest in Tennessee, and her extradition to DeKalb County, Georgia. At a subsequent hearing, Antinozzi reiterated the charges made by the ASC student, but produced no witnesses or physical evidence. The District Attorney dropped all of the charges against Hartley after she presented evidence showing that she was not in Georgia at the time of the alleged offenses.
Hartley then filed this action against the Defendants and ASC. Hartley asserted that all three campus policemen were acting within the scope of their employment as members of ASC's Department of Public Safety at all relevant times and that Hope was responsible for ensuring that allegations of criminal conduct at ASC were properly investigated. Hartley further asserted that ASC and the campus policemen breached their legal duty not to falsely arrest or imprison her; that their conduct constituted intentional infliction of emotional distress; and that their conduct entitled her to recover punitive damages.
Defendants filed their answer and denied liability. Defendants then moved to dismiss Hartley's complaint, contending (1) that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, because the campus policemen are law enforcement officers who were acting within the scope of their official duties and, thus, were immune from liability; and (2) that Hartley failed to state a claim against ASC, because a private employer of "special policemen" is not vicariously liable for the policemen's actions in furtherance of their public duties.
In denying their motion to dismiss, the trial court found that the campus policemen were not State officers or State employees under OCGA § 50-21-22(7), and that they were not otherwise entitled to official immunity. The trial court specifically found that, although the campus policemen had law enforcement powers, they were not "law enforcement officers" acting on behalf or in the service of the State as defined by OCGA § 50-21-22(7). The trial court also found that Hartley stated a claim against ASC because the complaint showed that the campus policemen were acting within the scope of their employment for ASC when they committed the allegedly tortious acts.
1. On appeal, Defendants contend that the trial court erred in finding that law enforcement officers employed by private colleges and universities are not immune from suit under The Georgia Tort Claims Act ("GTCA"), OCGA § 50-21-20, et seq. We agree that, under the facts of this case, the police officers were entitled to immunity.
(Citations, punctuation, and footnote omitted.) Data Inquiry, supra at 685(1), 722 S.E.2d 403. The GTCA provides that State officers or employees who commit torts while acting within the scope of their official duties or employment are not subject to lawsuit or liability for those acts. See OCGA § 50-21-25(a). Defendants argue that the campus policemen are entitled to immunity because they are law enforcement officers within the meaning of OCGA § 50-21-22(7). The issue
The GTCA definition of "State officer and employee" includes, in pertinent part,
OCGA § 50-21-22(7).
In the Campus Policemen Act, OCGA § 20-8-1 et seq., the legislature defines campus policemen as employees of educational facilities and vests campus policemen who have been certified as peace officers with "the same law enforcement powers, including the power of arrest, as a law enforcement officer of the local government with police jurisdiction over such campus." OCGA § 20-8-2. That Act defines a "campus policeman" not as an employee who owes a duty solely to the private institution that employs him, but rather as an officer "whose duties include the enforcement of the laws of this [S]tate; the preservation of public order; the protection of life and property; the prevention, detection, or investigation of crime; or any combination thereof." OCGA § 20-8-1(2).
Construing OCGA § 50-21-22(7) with the Campus Policemen Act, OCGA § 20-8-1 et seq.,
In the present case, although the Defendant campus policemen were employed by ASC, the facts in the complaint do not state that they were acting in furtherance of ASC's interests at the time of the investigation of the reported assault and the subsequent arrest of Hartley.
The trial court and appellees rely upon The Corporation of Mercer University v. Barrett & Farahany, LLP, 271 Ga.App. 501, 610 S.E.2d 138 (2005) for the assertion that the mere fact that campus police officers are given authority to perform certain functions under the Campus Policeman Act does not make them State officers or employees. However, this case is inapposite. In Mercer, this Court looked to the plain language of the Open Records Act, OCGA § 50-18-70, et seq., and held that the police department of Mercer University, a private institution, was not a "public agency" or "public office" and, therefore, was not required to comply with the provisions of the Georgia Open Records Act. Mercer, supra at 502-504(1)(a), 610 S.E.2d 138. The Open Records Act defines a public "agency" as an entity that (1) is a political subdivision of the state, (2) is a city, county, regional or other authority established by law, or (3) receives a specified percentage of money from the State. See OCGA § 50-18-70(b)(1); OCGA § 50-14-1(a)(1). It was undisputed that Mercer, as a private university, clearly did not fall within the statutory definition of a public "agency" subject to the Open Records Act. However, in contrast, in the present case, the Defendants as law enforcement officers and as employees working on behalf of or in service of the State clearly fall within the definition of "State official or employee" under the GTCA. Further, in direct response to this Court's holding in Mercer, the legislature acted promptly to counteract this Court's interpretation of the Open Records Act and enacted OCGA § 20-8-7 in 2006, which requires campus police departments, public or private, to make records related to the investigation of criminal conduct and crimes available for public inspection and copying. This legislation effectively reversed the Mercer decision and further strengthens the conclusion that the Defendants, as campus law enforcement officers, are acting on behalf of the State when they investigate crimes and uphold the laws of this State.
Further, the trial court and the appellee's reliance upon Nichols v. Prather, 286 Ga.App. 889, 893(1), 650 S.E.2d 380 (2007) in support of the contention that not every law enforcement officer, regardless of his employer, is a State officer is not applicable to the case at hand. The Nichols case held that sheriffs were not entitled to immunity under the GTCA because the GTCA specifically excludes "counties and other units of local government" from its definition of "State," and the Georgia Constitution defines sheriffs as "county officers." Id. at 893(1), 650 S.E.2d 380. See OCGA § 50-21-22(5); Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. IX, Sec. I, Par. III(a). In this case, there is no similar Constitutional or statutory basis for the exclusion of campus law enforcement officers from the GTCA's provision of immunity.
Construing the OCGA § 50-21-22(7) definition of "State officers and employees" to include campus law enforcement officers acting to enforce and uphold the laws of this
Based upon the above analysis, we find that the trial court erred in denying the Defendant's motion to dismiss.
2. Appellants contend that the trial court erred in denying ASC's motion to dismiss Hartley's claims for respondeat superior. We agree.
It is well-established under Georgia law that a private employer is not responsible under respondeat superior for the tortious acts of its police officer employee if that police officer was performing public duties, not at the direction of the employer, while committing the tort in question. See Pounds v. Central of Ga. R. Co., 142 Ga. 415, 83 S.E. 96 (1914) (railroad company not vicariously liable for tort committed by police officer on its payroll because police officer was acting in furtherance of his duties as a policeman when committing the alleged tort, and not at the railroad's direction); Touchton v. Bramble, 284 Ga.App. 164, 165-166(1)(a), 643 S.E.2d 541 (2007) (amusement park not subject to liability in respondeat superior for actions of its employee, an off-duty police detective, who was investigating an incident at the park when the amusement park did not direct the investigation or control his actions during the investigation).
A motion to dismiss should "only be granted if the allegations of the complaint, construed most favorably to the plaintiff, disclose with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any state of provable facts." (Citation omitted.) Thomas v. Lee, 286 Ga. 860, 861, 691 S.E.2d 845 (2010). Construing the pleadings in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, we note that the only language connecting the Defendant's alleged tortious conduct to ASC is an allegation in the Complaint that the Defendants were "employees of [ASC], acting within the line and scope of their authority, and in particular were acting as members of the Department of Public Safety of [ASC]." There is no indication in the complaint that ASC was involved in or directed their conduct in investigating the alleged assault or initiating the judicial process with respect to that claim. Accordingly, we find that the trial court erred in denying ASC's motion to dismiss.
Judgment reversed.
ANDREWS, P.J., and BRANCH, JJ., concur, BOGGS, J. concurs in judgment only, and MILLER, P.J., PHIPPS, P.J., and DOYLE, P.J., dissent.
MILLER, Presiding Judge.
I respectfully dissent from Division 1 of the majority's opinion because campus policemen who are employed by private colleges and universities do not fall within the statutory definition of a State employee under the Georgia Torts Claims Act ("GTCA"), OCGA § 50-21-20 et seq.
(Citation and punctuation omitted, emphasis supplied.) Ga. Forestry Comm. v. Canady, 280 Ga. 825, 826, 632 S.E.2d 105 (2006).
The GTCA provides that State officers or employees who commit torts while acting within the scope of their official duties or employment are not subject to lawsuit or liability for those acts. See OCGA § 50-21-25(a). Campus policemen Gaetano Antinozzi, Gregory Scott and Henry Hope argue that they are entitled to immunity under the GTCA because they are law enforcement officers within the meaning of OCGA § 50-21-22(7). The issue of whether the campus policemen were entitled to immunity under the GTCA is a question of law which requires this Court to determine whether they are State employees. See Hardin v. Phillips, 249 Ga.App. 541, 543(1), 547 S.E.2d 565 (2001).
OCGA § 50-21-22 provides the following definitions:
(Emphasis provided.) OCGA §§ 50-21-22(5)-(7). In construing this statute,
(Citation and punctuation omitted.) Currid v. DeKalb State Court Probation Dept., 285 Ga. 184, 187, 674 S.E.2d 894 (2009).
The plain language of the GTCA excludes employees of corporations or private entities, such as ASC, from the definition of State employee or officer. See OCGA § 50-21-25(7); Summerlin v. Ga. Pines Community Svc. Bd., 286 Ga. 593, 595(1), 690 S.E.2d 401
This Court must construe the GTCA together with the Campus Policemen Act, and harmonize the two statutes if possible so as to give effect to legislative intent. See Ferdinand v. Bd. of Commrs., 281 Ga. 643, 644, 641 S.E.2d 787 (2007). OCGA § 20-8-1 pertinently provides that:
OCGA § 20-8-2 provides that
Campus policemen are not authorized to exercise law enforcement powers unless they are certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (hereinafter "POST certified"). See OCGA § 20-8-3.
As an initial matter, we note that the complaint is silent as to whether the campus policemen are POST certified as required by OCGA § 20-8-3. Nevertheless, even assuming that the campus policemen were properly certified, they were not State officers or employees within the meaning of the GTCA. Nothing in the Campus Policemen Act indicates that a campus policeman is considered to be a State employee. The mere fact that campus police officers are given authority to perform certain functions under the Campus Policemen Act does not make them State officers or employees.
I also dissent to the majority's opinion as to Division 2 because Hartley could show that Agnes Scott College ("ASC") is vicariously liable for the campus policemen's actions if she presents evidence that they were acting within the scope and course of their employment for ASC.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Chorey, Taylor, Feil, P.C. v. Clark, 273 Ga. 143, 144, 539 S.E.2d 139 (2000). The question of whether an employee is acting within the scope of his employment, and the scope of his employer's business at the time of an injury to another is a jury question, except in plain and indisputable cases. See Howard v. J.H. Harvey Co., 239 Ga.App. 677, 681(5), 521 S.E.2d 691 (1999).
Here, the complaint alleged that the campus policemen were acting within the scope and course of their employment. Specifically, Hartley alleged that the campus policemen were ASC employees, acting within the line and scope of their employment, when they investigated the reported assault and then initiated proceedings to secure Hartley's arrest. Nevertheless, Defendants argue that ASC incurred no vicarious liability because the campus policemen were engaged in law enforcement activities that constituted a public service, not acting in furtherance of ASC's business. Defendants' argument is unavailing, because they have not shown that Hartley could not possibly present evidence that the campus policemen were ASC's employees acting within the scope of their employment. Construing the allegations in the light most favorable to Hartley, a jury could find that ASC is vicariously liable for the campus policemen's actions if Hartley proves that they were acting within the scope of their employment. See Smith, supra, 249 Ga.App. at 589, 549 S.E.2d 423 (holding that the owner and manager of an apartment complex could be vicariously liable for the actions of three police officers if the plaintiffs proved that the officers were employees acting within the scope of their employment).
I am authorized to state that Phipps, P.J., and Doyle, P.J., join in this dissent.