November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 33

By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

LAW RE VIE W

Municipal Immunity for
Failed 911 Surf Rescue

I

n the case of Popow v. Town of Stratford (Dist. Conn. 2/12/2010), the admin-

istrator of the estate of decedent Stoil Popow (Popow) alleged the defendant Town
was negligent in responding to a fatal " kite-surfing " accident off of Long Beach in
Stratford, Connecticut. Plaintiff Popow also claimed the Town was negligent because
it " took no action to warn kite-surfers to come out of the water or to supervise the area
during the winter, despite their knowledge that the beach area was being used by kitesurfers year round. " In addition to the Town, Popow sued the Town's director of parks
and recreation (Patricia Patusky) and a number of town firefighters.
In this case, the federal district court found the
following " well established " common-law doctrines would " determine the tort liability of municipal employees " :
Generally, a municipal employee is liable for the
misperformance of ministerial acts, but has a
qualified immunity in the performance of governmental acts. Governmental acts are performed
wholly for the direct benefit of the public and are
supervisory or discretionary in nature. The hallmark of a discretionary act is that it requires the
exercise of judgment. In contrast, ministerial refers to a duty which is to be performed in a
prescribed manner without the exercise of judgment or discretion.

Further, the court noted that " municipal officials
are immune from liability for negligence arising
out of their discretionary acts in part because of the
danger that a more expansive exposure to liability
would cramp the exercise of official discretion beyond the limits desirable in our society " :
Discretionary act immunity reflects a value judgment that-despite injury to a member of the
public-the broader interest in having government officers and employees free to exercise
judgment and discretion in their official functions,
unhampered by fear of second-guessing and retaliatory lawsuits, outweighs the benefits to be had
from imposing liability for that injury.

In contrast, the cour t ack nowledged that

	

" municipal officers are not immune from liability
for negligence arising out of their ministerial acts. "
According to the court, non-immune " ministerial
acts " are defined as " acts to be performed in a prescribed manner without the exercise of judgment
or discretion. " As noted by the court, such acts are
not immune " because society has no analogous interest in permitting municipal officers to exercise
judgment in the performance of ministerial acts. "
Applying these principles to the facts of this particular case, the governmental acts were found to
be discretionary and, therefore, immune from any
liability for negligence.

Facts of the Case
During the early afternoon hours of January 21,
2006, there were as few as six, but possibly as many
as 25, persons kite-surfing in Long Island Sound off
of Long Beach in Stratford, Connecticut. In January,
there were no lifeguards or other rescue personnel on duty at Long Beach. There were no warning
signs in place on the beach warning of the hazards
of entering the water during the winter, nor were
there any barricades or other fencing limiting the
public's access to the beach.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., the weather took a
turn for the worse. Substantial storm clouds formed,
and it began to get dark. In addition, the wind
changed directions and began blowing strongly
away from shore, creating " squall-like " conditions.

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Parks & Recreation	

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November 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2010 - Parks & Recreation

November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 2
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