ATLANTA - The case of a Forsyth County sheriff's deputy who was sued for having two dog euthanized while their owner was in the hospital will go back to court.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday morning that the case had not been handled properly by a lower court, and thus, it must be remanded to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
The incident in question occurred in 2007 when the owner of the two Golden labs was taken to the hospital. Mitchell Greenway said he left his dogs in the care of neighbors, but he claims a deputy forced him to sign a form that released the animals to the local humane society, where they were euthanized.
The statement from the high court reads as follows:
"The Supreme Court of Georgia has reversed a Georgia Court of Appeals decision in a case involving a Forsyth County sheriff's deputy who was sued for having two dogs euthanized while their owner was in the hospital.
"While the deputy argued he was shielded by official immunity, the Court of Appeals ruled that the case could proceed to jury trial.
"But in Monday's unanimous decision, written by Presiding Justice P. Harris Hines, the high court has ruled that the Court of Appeals erred in its legal analysis and 'the case must be remanded to the Court of Appeals for proceedings consistent with this opinion.'
"According to the record, in January 2007, Mitchell Greenway, who was totally disabled, was taken by ambulance to Northside Hospital in Atlanta. According to testimony, he was periodically confused and 'out of it' in the emergency room and it was not clear whether he would survive. Greenway had two golden Labrador Retrievers, Misty and Dakota, which he left in his back yard with food and water. His neighbor testified that he told police at Greenway's home he would look after the dogs. At the hospital, Forsyth County sheriff's deputies with the Animal Control Unit, including Terry Roper, came to his room and asked him to sign a form. Greenway testified that he is nearly blind without his glasses but no one could find them. According to Greenway, the nurses and a doctor told him in the presence of the deputies and patient advocate that if he "did die, then [his] dogs would go to the Humane Society" and he could get them back within seven to 10 days. Greenway had difficulty remembering details but said the one thing he did recall was Roper saying to him: 'Just sign the damn form.' Greenway eventually signed the form based on his belief that his dogs would be taken to the Humane Society and he could get them back. When they found his glasses and he later read the form, he realized he'd signed a form authorizing the animals to be put to sleep, and before he could stop it, they had been killed.
"Greenway sued Roper, the sheriff, Northside Hospital, and the private corporation that operates the Forsyth County Animal Control facility, contending that at the time he signed the form, he was not fully aware of what was happening, the nature of the form was misrepresented, he was not allowed to read the form, and he was told he had to sign it.
"At issue in this case is whether Roper was performing a 'ministerial' duty during his interactions with Greenway, or a 'discretionary' act. A ministerial act is defined as one that is simple, absolute and definite, requiring merely the execution of a specific duty. A discretionary act, however, calls for personal deliberation and judgment and involves acting in a way not specifically directed. Under the doctrine of official immunity, a public agent is considered immune from personal liability for 'discretionary' acts taken within the scope of his official authority, but agents 'may be personally liable if they negligently perform a ministerial act or act with actual malice or an intent to injure when performing a discretionary act.'
"The trial court ruled in favor of Roper and the other defendants, granting all of them 'summary judgment,' which a court does when the judge determines there is no need for a jury trial because the facts are undisputed and the law falls clearly on the side of those requesting the judgment. The trial court found that Roper was immune because he was acting under his own discretion when he asked Greenway to sign the form. The Court of Appeals agreed that the doctrine of official immunity insulated Roper from liability regarding his decision to ask Greenway to sign the release but not from his execution of that decision. The appellate court found that the act of physically handing the form to Greenway was ministerial and the 'allegations that Deputy Roper exercised poor judgment in carrying out that act do not make the act the type of discretionary act protected by official immunity.' Roper then appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.
"In Monday's opinion, the high court says the Court of Appeals decision 'went astray,' and it is sending the case back to that court. 'First, the mere fact that Roper's act of handing the form to Greenway was simple and definite does not make it a ministerial act; it must be done in 'the execution of a specific duty,'' the opinion says.
"But even more fundamentally, the discretionary act to which official immunity attached cannot be parsed in the manner that the Court of Appeals opinion suggests
Tuesday
May 7th, 2024
8:46PM
