No. 86-416
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
1987
RONALD W. BARNES,
Plaintiff and Appellant,
-VS-
DONALD KOEPKE and WILLIAM BIG SPRINGS,
Commissioners of Glacier County and
GLACIER COUNTY, a Political subdivision
of the State of Montana,
Defendants and Respondents.
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Ninth Judicial District,
In and for the County of Glacier,
The Honorable R.D. McPhillips, Judge presiding.
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellant:
Trieweiler Law Firm; Terry N. Trieweiler argued,
Whitefish, Montana
For Respondent:
Alexander & Baucus; Gary M. Zadick argued, Great Falls,
Montana
submitted: February 9, 1 9 8 7
Decided: April 2 8 , 1 9 8 7
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Filed:
Mr. Justice John Conway Harrison delivered the Opinion of the
Court.
This appeal arises from a motion to dismiss granted
defendants by the District Court of the Ninth Judicial
District in and for Glacier County. Plaintiff appeals. We
affirm.
Glacier County owns a hospital and nursing home complex
located in Cut Bank, Montana. From 1964-1984, the County
leased these premises to the Glacier County Hospital
Association, a non-profit corporation which under the terms
of the lease became responsible for the operation of the
hospital and nursing home. This agreement originally ran for
five years and was renewed in writing in 1969 and 1974; from
1979 to 1984, the agreement was renewed orally year to year.
In July 1981, the Hospital Association entered into a
contract with Brim and Associates to provide management
services to the complex. Brim and Associates hired
plaintiff, Ronald Barnes, to serve as the administrator of
the facilities.
However, Barnes and much of the hospital staff quickly
grew disenchanted with one another. Deposition testimony
from doctors who worked in the hospital during Barnes' tenure
reveals their displeasure with Barnes' performance as
administrator.
In October 1983, the doctors of the hospital staff
presented a letter to the Board of Directors of the Hospital
Association demanding Barnes' dismissal. The Hospital
Association, though, refused to terminate Barnes.
In December 1983 and March 1984, the County
Commissioners notified the Hospital Association that the
County would not renew the lease agreement when it expired on
June 30, 1 9 8 4 . On that date, the County formally declined to
renew the lease. What effect this non-renewal had on the
contract between the Hospital Association and Brim and
Associates is not noted. However, Barnes was terminated by
his employer, Brim and Associates, as hospital administrator
in August 1984, and as administrator of the nursing home on
January 1, 1985.
In July 1985, Barnes filed this action against Glacier
County and its Commissioners. In his complaint, Barnes
alleged that the defendants' personal dislike for him led
them willfully to conspire to secure his discharge from his
present position as administrator and to ruin him
professionally. When the Hospital Association refused to
discharge Barnes, the complaint states that the defendants
then terminated the Association's lease for the sole purpose
of harming Barnes and destroying his contractual relationship
with his employer and the Hospital Association.
The defendants moved to dismiss this action on the
ground that the suit was barred by a governmental immunity
statute, 5 2-9-111, MCA. The District Court, in July 1986,
granted defendants' motion and dismissed this action pursuant
to 5 2-9-111, MCA. Barnes now appeals.
Section 2-9-111, MCA, provides in pertinent part:
(1) As used in this section:
(a) the term "governmental entity"
includes the state, counties,
municipalities, and school districts;
(b) the term "legislative body" includes
the legislature vested with legislative
power by Article V of The Constitution of
the State of Montana and any local
governmental entity given legislative
powers by statute, including school
boards.
(2) A governmental entity is immune from
suit for an act or omission of its
legislative body or a member, officer, or
agent thereof.
(3) A member, officer, or agent of a
legislative body is immune from suit for
damages arising from the lawful discharge
of an official duty associated with the
introduction or consideration of
legislation or action by the legislative
body.
This statute clearly provides immunity for the
defendants herein. Subsection (2) grants a county immunity
for an act undertaken by its legislative body. The decision
complained of by appellant--the decision not to renew the
lease with the Hospital Association--was clearly one made by
the legislative body of Glacier County, that is, its County
Commissioners. As such, the act comes within the express
language of the statute. We accordingly find that 5 2-9-111,
MCA, renders Glacier County immune from suit in this action.
See W. D. Construction, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners
of Gallatin County (Mont. 1985), 707 P.2d 1111, 42 St.Rep.
1638.
In a related manner, subsection (3) provides immunity
for members of a legislative body from damages arising from
the lawful discharge of an official duty. Appellant attempts
to distance his case from this language by asserting that
acts committed in bad faith and with malice cannot be
considered the lawful discharge of an official duty.
Appellant's emphasis on the motive underlying the act is
misplaced. We will look only to see whether the act in
question was performed pursuant to the lawful discharge of an
official duty. In this case, the Commissioners clearly
possessed the authority to choose not to renew the County's
lease agreement with the Hospital Association. As such, this
action falls within the statutory immunity. We will not
delve deeper and attempt to discover the potential motives of
decision makers. To do so would clearly weaken both the
plain meaning and the intent of this statute.
We find that the District Court properly dismissed this
action on the ground that it failed to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted. As applied, the District
Court's action did not raise a constitutional challenge.
Affirmed.
/" I Justice 1
We concur: /49 i