November 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 34

L AW R E V I E W

foster and provide these facilities and
programs for all its citizens. N.C.G.S.
ยง 160A-351 (2011)
In the opinion of the state supreme court, this statutory language
was " clearly relevant to the question
of whether defendants' conduct -
maintaining and operating the Swimming Hole at Fun Junktion - is a
governmental or proprietary endeavor " (emphasis of court).
According to the state supreme
court, the appeals court only " made
a passing reference to section 160A351. " Instead, as characterized by the
state supreme court, the appeals court
had simply determined that defendants
were not entitled to governmental immunity based " solely or predominantly
upon the fact that the services defendants provided could also be provided
by nongovernmental entities. "
In the opinion of the state supreme
court, the appeals court should have
conducted a more detailed " fact-intensive inquiry " into the allegations
in the complaint to determine " the
proper designation of a particular action of a county or municipality " as
governmental or proprietary.
[E]ven if the operation of a
parks and recreation program is a
governmental function by statute,
the question remains whether the
specific operation of the Swimming
Hole component of Fun Junktion,
in this case and under these circumstances, is a governmental function....We recognize that not every
nuanced action that could occur in
a park or other recreational facility
has been designated as governmental or proprietary in nature by the
legislature.
Accordingly, the state supreme
court reiterated the following " guiding principles " when " the legislature
has not directly resolved whether a

32

Parks & Recreation

specific activity is governmental or
proprietary in nature " :
We have repeatedly held that if the
undertaking is one in which only a
governmental agency could engage,
it is perforce governmental in nature.
So, when an activity has not been
designated as governmental or proprietary by the legislature, that activity
is necessarily governmental in nature
when it can only be provided by a governmental agency or instrumentality.
Privatized Governmental Services
On the other hand, the state supreme
court recognized that " it is increasingly difficult to identify services that
can only be rendered by a governmental entity " because " many services once thought to be the sole purview of the public sector have been
privatized in full or in part. " Accordingly, " when the particular service can be performed both privately and publicly, " the state supreme
court would consider " a number of
additional factors " in determining
whether a particular activity is governmental or proprietary:
Relevant to this inquiry is whether the service is traditionally a service provided by a governmental
entity, whether a substantial fee is
charged for the service provided and
whether that fee does more than simply cover the operating costs of the
service provider.
While noting that these factors provide " the guidance needed to identify
the distinction between a governmental and proprietary activity, " the state
supreme court cautioned against
" overreliance on these four factors. "
In so doing, the court recognized that
" the distinctions between proprietary
and governmental functions are fluid and courts must be advertent to
changes in practice. "

| N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

As a result, the state supreme court
found " the proper designation of a
particular action of a county or municipality " as either governmental or
proprietary " may differ from case to
case. " In the opinion of the state supreme court, this would require " a
fact-intensive inquiry, turning on the
facts alleged in the complaint. "
In this particular instance, the state
supreme court found " the decision of
the Court of Appeals that defendants
were not entitled to governmental immunity, turned solely or predominantly upon the fact that the services defendants provided could also be provided
by nongovernmental entities. " In the
opinion of the court, " this distinction
lacks the utility it once had. " As a result, the state supreme court vacated
the decision of lower courts and remanded (i.e., sent back) the case for
further proceedings in the trial court
to conduct the required fact-intensive
inquiry to determine " whether defendants in this case are ultimately entitled to governmental immunity. "
Park Immunity
In the case of Mayor and City Council
of Baltimore v. Whalen, 395 Md. 154;
909 A.2d 683; 2006 Md. LEXIS 709
(Md. 2006), a legally blind individual
was injured when she fell into a utility
hole while her guide dog was relieving itself within the legal boundaries
of a park owned and maintained by
the City. Plaintiff Whalen claimed the
City was negligent for failing to ensure
the utility hole was safely covered.
The trial court granted the City's
motion for summary judgment based
upon the governmental immunity
defense. The appeals court, however,
vacated this judgment. The state supreme court granted the City's petition to review these decisions by the
lower courts. The issue was whether



November 2013 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2013 - Parks & Recreation

November 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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